Life at Saitou's Ranch
by BelleDayNight
Summary: Siblings Kaoru and Sano are desperate to pay off their father’s debt, desperate enough to work for woman hating Saitou. Mystery cowboy Ru impresses the rancher, but who is Saitou's prized pupil really? cowritten with Kanzen ne Tsuki
1. Chapter One

This story was originally written several years ago and was a great deal of fun to write at first. It was a collaborative project between myself and Kanzen ne Tsuki and then later Cat Foxglove. After much prodding by the latter I decided to re-read this story and revamp it. After Tsuki-san left the project I had lost a great deal of my motivation, coupled with being in my last year of graduate school, and the story didn't end in a satisfactory way. So, the first thirteen chapters have been edited and from 14 on completely re-written. Many asked for a sequel due to the abrupt ending, instead of that I'm giving you more story to flesh out this lovely cowboy tale. You have the determined nature of Cat Foxglove to thank for this much BETTER edition. (February 2010)

_Disclaimer: I own not Rurouni Kenshin, nor the characters within the series. This plot is my own though, enjoy!_

_Summary: Siblings Kaoru and Sano are desperate to pay off their father's debt, desperate enough to work for woman hating Saitou. Mystery cowboy Ru impresses the rancher. What happens when he finds out his prized pupil is really the woman he can't stand?_

**Life at Saitou's Ranch**

**Chapter One**

Kaoru sighed again as her older step-brother continued his drive to the ranch where he acquired a job at as foreman. Times were rough and with the death of their father, and a huge debt to pay there was no choice but to drop everything and find work immediately. Even if that work meant leaving the comforts of Virginia for New Mexico.

"What do you know about this Saitou man?" Kaoru inquired of her step-brother as the acres and acres of the man's ranch came into view. They hadn't seen another vehicle in many miles. "He sure does live far away from the rest of civilization," she remarked dryly.

Sanosuke shrugged as he shifted the gears of his trusty Bronco. "I know he's insanely rich, a bastard to get along with, and meaner than the devil." He shrugged and cast his little sister an apologetic look. "I'm sorry Kao, but I can't find any other sorts of jobs. It sure would have helped if you knew how to cook."

Her arms crossed her chest defensively at the barb at her cooking. "At least I try!" She defended in annoyance.

"I know, Missy, but the fact that Dad taught both of us everything he knew about horses will definitely help. I mean, you're practically a man with your ability to help in round up!" Sano exclaimed in his usual non-thinking way.

Sapphire eyes narrowed at the spiky haired cowboy with the unruly hair. "I am very much a woman," Kaoru informed him with a sharp edge to her voice.

Jovial chuckling was her answer as Sano's chocolate eyes twinkled at her in a teasing manner. "Of course you are missy, it's just hard for most people to tell with those clothes you wear."

"That's not true!" Kaoru leaned over her seat to glare at him. "I wear dresses!"

Sano shrugged. "Sure, when you go to church and when you aren't riding horses." He smirked at his little step-sister. "But you usually dress like a cowboy in those loose clothes with your hair tucked up in your hat."

"You know why," Kaoru explained softly as dreadful memories came back to her of a terrible run in with a man she wished to forget. She shuddered as she recalled the horrible event.

Sano cast her a concerned look and squeezed her shoulder quickly for reassurance. "Sorry, Missy, I forget how fresh that is on your memory."

"Let's not talk about it," Kaoru whispered.

"Of course, look, you can see the Star S Ranch house now." He whistled with appreciation. "This guy is richer than I thought."

Kaoru shrugged. "Money isn't everything."

Sano grinned at her as he parked his Bronco. He got out and walked around to her side to open the passenger door and help her down. "Come on shorty," he teased as he helped her to the ground. "I know money isn't everything, but if we don't want to go to a pauper's jail for Dad's debts we had better earn some quick!"

The step-siblings walked side by side towards the Ranch house. "Where is everyone?" Kaoru asked, not seeing any other people. Surely a ranch this size would have people milling about at all times.

Sano placed a brotherly arm around her slender shoulders. "Saitou told me most everyone would be out in the fields today. He should be inside working on the books."

Kaoru nodded absently and began to run her fingers through her long ponytail, as was her nervous habit. Sano tugged the hair gently with a teasing smile that quickly faded with a somber expression. "Kao, he hates women. So, just be careful. I had to do a lot of sweet talking to let him allow you here."

She shifted at the remark. "Why would he hate women?"

Sano shrugged. "I'm not sure, I tried to ask around. He was once married, about ten years ago. I think she left him." He frowned. "Maybe you should wait in the truck."

Kaoru's hands flew to her hips and she rounded on her brother. It was a rather comical scene since he was nearly an entire foot taller than she was. "Listen here Sanosuke, this is going to be my home too. I'm not going to wait in the truck like some puppy dog."

Amused laughter drifted towards them from the front door. An effeminate young man was shaking his head at them, short brown hair bobbing in the action. He nodded at them in greeting. "The name is Kamatari, I'm his highness' cook and butler rolled into one. You must be Sanosuke and Kaoru."

Sano's hands dug into his pockets, as was his nervous habit. "Yeah," he agreed.

Kamatari smiled at them warmly. "You don't need to wait in the truck Kaoru, however, I would recommend that you not speak unless spoken to and don't take anything that man says personally. He's going to resent you for the simple fact that you're a woman."

Kaoru snorted at the reply. "I hate being judged for something I can't help."

Kamatari placed a hand at the small of her back once she reached the stairs and guided her inside. "It can't be helped, but just don't let it get to you."

The young man led them further into the richly furnished ranch house. It was obviously designed in masculine tones with leather and dark wood being the general theme. Over the hearth several swords were displayed.

Kamatari knocked raptly upon a particular door and was given a grunt in response. "Mr. Sanosuke and Ms. Kaoru are here."

"You can let him in, get rid of her. I don't want to see her." Came the cold reply from inside. Kamatari cast Kaoru a rueful smile and held the door open for Sanosuke. The tall cowboy entered and closed the door behind him.

Kaoru shifted nervously. "Don't let it bother you. Come on, follow me and I'll show you where you'll be sleeping," Kamatari coaxed as he led the young woman down the hallway and up the stairs.

"Isn't there a separate house for the foreman and his family?" Kaoru asked uncertainly. She wasn't too keen on being in the same house as a man who hated her without even giving her a chance.

"There was, but it burned down to the very foundation a few months ago in a lightning storm. It was the damnest thing. I never actually had seen lightning strike before!" He exclaimed with a grin at her discomfort. "I'm just teasing, the last foreman was a bit of a drinker and set his own house on fire while he was here alone while the boss was away at a conference."

"That would explain why he wanted a new foreman," Kaoru replied with a small giggle in spite of herself.

"That's the attitude! This is your room." He opened a door to reveal a beautiful room with a canopied bed and dark royal purple comforter and curtains. The dark mahogany wood was absolutely gorgeous.

Kaoru's mouth gaped. "Wow, I've never seen anything so beautiful." She looked around the room in awe before looking at Kamatari with her brows drawn together in confusion. "I thought Saitou hated women. Why would he have such a room in his home?"

"Well actually I decided which room to give you. This was originally the room of his fiancé, but she never even stepped foot in the room. I don't see any reason for you not to have it." He smiled like a Cheshire cat.

"I thought he was married," Kaoru began.

Kamatari looked down the hall to make sure no other ears could hear. "He had the room decorated for her when she agreed to marry him for when he would be out of town on business. He didn't believe a woman should have to sleep in her husband's bed without him there as well. They went on their honeymoon and she didn't come back with him."

"What happened?" Kaoru asked curiously.

"None of your damned business," a new voice rejoined.

Kamatari visibly paled and gave a brief bow before running out of the room and down the hall, leaving Kaoru abandoned to deal with the angry volcano before her.

A tall, lean, muscular man stood in the doorway. He completely ignored his butler and glared at Kaoru with narrowed amber eyes. A cigarette was positioned within his thin lips as he smoked casually while glaring.

If it wasn't for his 'winning' personality, Kaoru would have considered him ruggedly handsome with his chiseled features, high cheekbones, straight nose, and firm jaw. She swallowed as her attention was drawn to his well toned chest, as it was exposed to the midsection.

"Done getting your fill of eye candy, sweetheart?" Saitou remarked in a gruff voice full of venom.

"Excuse me?" Kaoru asked indignantly, hands flying to her hips in reflex.

A light brown eyebrow arched at her attitude. "You heard me. Let's just get a few things straight," Saitou began with a slow, easy drawl. "I don't want you here, but I sympathized with your brother's situation. I don't want to see you so make yourself scarce. Do your job and we won't have any problems."

Kaoru stood silently and bit her cheek to keep from retorting to the arrogant man.

"Nothing to say, sweetheart?" Saitou sneered. His wicked grin disappeared before she could even register that it was there. "I don't need some harlot seducing my men either. If I hear anything about the sort you're out of here. I don't care what the circumstances." He turned on his heel and was about to leave when he stopped at the sound of Kaoru's voice.

"Living with an arrogant bastard who hates me without cause isn't my ideal situation either I'll have you know. I will be all too happy to not see you again during our stay here. As far as your men go, they better stay away from me. I have no intention of getting involved with some lady-killer cowboy." Kaoru glared at the man's back as he stood stone-still in her doorway.

Slowly, Saitou turned around and locked eyes with her. Sapphire and amber clashed violently. Kaoru began to tug on the long sleeve of Sano's flannel shirt that she had borrowed in the truck. It hid her figure and she knew that Saitou couldn't possibly accuse her of trying to seduce him while wearing such clothes.

"I'm not a harlot and most certainly not YOUR sweetheart," Kaoru continued when it became clear that the older man wouldn't answer.

"Make sure you remember that you are here as a charity case. I don't want some woman around here," Saitou informed her coldly. He turned back and left, but Kaoru's last words reached his ears.

"I wouldn't be here if my brother didn't need me," she said quietly.

Saitou's hands formed tight fists at his sides. His nails dug into his palms so deeply that blood was almost drawn. He did not want some woman coming here and disturbing his carefully balanced life. He returned to his study and found Sanosuke sitting at the leather chair where he left him.

The young man looked at him nervously. The dark haired youth hadn't wanted Saitou to talk to his sister. That was surprising to Saitou, most people constantly tried to introduce him to women. That was the problem with having so much money. Everybody wanted a piece.

"Look Saitou, sir," Sanosuke started. "I really do need this job, but Kaoru is the most important person to me in the world. We're all each other has. If you can't treat her with some dignity you can take this job and shove it where the sun don't shine," Sano growled rising to his feet and standing eye to eye with the other vertically inclined man.

Saitou cocked a brow at the young man's brazen attitude. He was slightly impressed at the level of loyalty to some woman who obviously didn't deserve that loyalty. "Very well moron, you have the job and I won't make your sister's life hell as long as she steers clear of me and doesn't distract the men."

Sano cracked his knuckles in anger at the insinuation of Kaoru's character. "She's not like that, but I don't think you'll have to worry about her coming near you." He smirked. "She probably hates you as much as you hate her."

Saitou wasn't sure why that remark hurt so much. He just met the troublesome woman and knew that she was only going to cause him problems. He learned long ago that all women were treacherous, which is why he avoided them so much. The only problem was that didn't seem to deter them from him.

He lit another cigarette. "Kamatari will show you to your room and you can move your things in. You're hired. Dinner is at seven every night in the dinning hall." He moved past his new foreman for his desk to continue his bookwork.

Sanosuke didn't leave just yet and lingered at the doorway uncertainly. He cleared his throat and earned his boss' attention. "Kaoru eats with us, right?" He needed to make sure.

"No, the men eat in the dining hall. She can eat in the kitchen with Kamatari."

Sano's dark brows drew together. "Then I'll eat in the kitchen as well."

"Like hell you will. If you want to eat, you'll eat with the other men that work on this ranch. You need to get to know one another," Saitou reasoned as he continued with his calculations, seeing the discussion closed.

"Kaoru will be working with the men as well, or did you forget. She handles a horse even better than I can," Sanosuke argued. He was going to defend his sister, even if it meant he would lose this job. Pride was important.

"I don't need a woman doing man's work," Saitou remarked with an icy, cutting edge.

"What the hell is she supposed to do then?" Sanosuke roared.

Saitou shrugged. "How the hell should I know? I made it perfectly clear that I don't need a woman on this ranch. Just make sure she stays out of my way." He paused and looked at Sano. "By the way, you can hire more hands for the round up, it starts pretty soon. See you at dinner."

Sanosuke walked out of the room and shut the door behind him. He ran his fingers through his unruly dark hair and saw Kaoru standing a few feet from him. Her eyes were bright with unshed tears, but he knew she would never shed them. She smiled weakly at him and he put his arm around her shoulder to walk out to the Bronco to get their things.

"I'm sorry, Kao," Sanosuke told her softly.

Kaoru's thin shoulders shrugged under his muscular arms. "It's fine, really." She grinned at him mischievously. "Maybe I can go under the ruse of a mysterious cowboy that you hire for round up."

Sano chuckled at her idea. "I was thinking the same thing, missy."

Once they reached the Bronco Kaoru continued, "He wants me to stay out of his way. If I'm in the disguise of someone else then I can't run into him."

"If he finds out we'll probably be thrown out of here faster than you can tie your tennis shoe," Sano commented. Kaoru frowned at the reply and Sano only laughed and ruffled her silky, dark hair. "What's the point of living if we avoid the risks though?"

**OoO**

Saitou snapped his pencil in half in his frustration. The fire in those sapphire eyes haunted him. He really liked Sanosuke. He'd make an excellent foreman and he really could use someone as hard a worker as him. The only disadvantage was that a woman had to be part of the deal.

But, he wasn't being unreasonable with his requests. She would only be a distraction to his cowboys. He remembered all too vividly what happened years ago when he allowed a woman on this ranch.

He remembered looking past and ignoring all the problems she caused and the distractions of his men. But, on his honeymoon he discovered the truth and he realized that all women were a trouble best left alone.

"Damn her!" he growled as he threw his broken pencil at the wall. He didn't want to think about her treachery, but that Kaoru woman was going to bring it all back. Those were memories he successfully avoided for nearly a decade. He didn't need some silly tomboy to bring them back.

_A/N: I've been wanting to write a Saitou/Kaoru fiction and also something along the theme of a Diana Palmer cowboy romance book, so this was the result. My wonderful friend __**Kanzen ne Tsuki **__will also be participating in writing this baby. Hope you enjoyed the first chapter of Life at Saitou's Ranch! __**BelleDayNight**_

_Edited: 2/19/10_


	2. Chapter Two

_**(A/N: **__So sorry it has taken so long for this update. Please don't blame Belle, it's not her fault. It is all mine. I am coming out of the tail end of the writers block from hell, and it has just been the pits trying to write anything. Including my own fictions. Anyway, I have worked very hard on this for her because she is my dear friend and I don't want to let her down because my quality is not up to par. I hope I have succeeded in bringing to you something that is worthwhile. God Bless you all, please read and enjoy. I think this fiction is going to be a blast. Lots of fun and surprises for everybody, including the cast. Catch ya'll laterz. Kanzen ne Tsuki)_

**Chapter Two**

For reasons of sanity, Kaoru spent the remainder of the day cloistered away in her new room trying to come to terms with her new situation. It was going to one of the hardest things she ever faced trying to deal with the overbearing man who was her brother's employer, but it was going to be even harder to keep her mouth shut whenever he was around. The man was absolutely the limit when it came to rudeness and thick-headedness. His ideas about her and what she was all about were completely off the wall and unfounded and she did not understand why anyone who worked for him could stand to be in the same room with him for more than thirty seconds. He was an uncouth, uncivilized wolverine as far as she was concerned and staying out of his way would be her number one priority from here on out. The less she had to do with him the better.

Unfortunately, the close quarters of a ranch house and the simple fact that their rooms were only a bathroom door apart was going to make that a little bit difficult. However, Kaoru was determined not to let the arrogance of the man get to her and destroy her and her brother's chances of getting their lives back on track. After all, opportunities like this didn't just come along every day, and so when they did you had to grab them with both hands and hold on tight.

It was just about an hour before the dinner hour when Kamatari knocked on Kaoru's bedroom door and asked her if she wanted to come down and help with the set up. Embarrassed, Kaoru explained what a terrible cook she was, but Kamatari just giggled and told her that didn't matter. All he wanted was some help setting the table and spooning the food into serving dishes, and he didn't think Kaoru's less than adequate culinary skills could cause any damage doing that. Laughing with good natured self-pity, Kaoru agreed and joined the slender, effeminate man in the kitchen where they started a companionable conversation and a new friendship.

"Please, you have to call me 'Tari'. Everyone does and it would make it so much easier for you if you did."

"How is that?"

"If you want me to answer when you call me, you should call me what I'll answer to." Kamatari's eyes danced with mischief as he handed Kaoru a large dish of mashed potatoes to put on the table. "Otherwise, you'll be talkin' to yourself all day long and not knowing why."

"Okay," Kaoru giggled as she accepted the dish and pushed her way through the country style swinging doors that opened up into the big dining-room. "I'll try and remember that, but if I'm going to call you 'Tari' then you have to call me 'Kao' or 'Kaoru'. No more of this 'Miss Kaoru' crap. Deal?"

"Deal." Kamatari reached out and shook Kaoru's hand like they were making some very serious agreement and then the two dissolved into a bout of silly giggles as they disappeared back through the swinging doors. "We have to make sure there is a lot of gravy on the table, Kaoru."

"Gravy? Why?"

"Because these men eat it on _everything, _and I mean everything. Especially Mr. Saitou." A wistful sigh escaped the young cook and his eyes took on an almost dreamy look. "He does love my gravy, that he does."

"Tari!" Kaoru gave the man a playful shove knocking him out of his reverie. "You sound like you're in love with the man."

"Oh heavens no." Kamatari waved his hands in the air frantically as he tried to show just how ludicrous that particular idea was. "It just makes me happy he loves what I cook, besides... I don't swing that way, girly." Both burst into laughter once more as the meaning of his last words settled into Kaoru's mind.

"I didn't think you did." She replied as soon as she was able to catch her breath and leaned against the counter for support. "But you have to admit one thing..."

"What is that?"

"The way you talk... the way you act, it does sort of lead one to think that about you, you know."

"Oh I know, and it just makes me so mad." Stomping his foot for emphasis Kamatari put his hands on his hips and scowled. "It's just the way I am and there's no helping it."

"That's okay, Tari." Kaoru walked over to him and hugged him as she laughed. "I like you just like this."

"Good, because I've never been one to change for other people. You shouldn't be either." The statement was spoken pointedly and Kaoru nodded.

"I know. I don't intend to."

"Don't let him get to you, honey. You've always got me no matter what else happens, you've always got me."

"Thanks, Tari. That means a lot to me." Kaoru hugged the slender man once more as her voice hitched with emotion. "More than you can ever know."

"Not a problem, honey. After all, isn't that what friends are for?"

**OoO**

Saitou was furious and it didn't take a genius to figure out why. The cowboys surrounding the dinner table were doing everything possible _not _to talk about the unwanted addition to their numbers that had come along with the new foreman package. Everyone of them knew how much the Boss hated anything female especially the species themself, so the conversation was being steered away from the young blue-eyed woman and focused on her brother.

"How long you been runnin' livestock, Sagara?" One meaty-fisted, bejowled cowboy with beady eyes and a big grin asked.

"Pretty much longer than I can remember," Sano answered in his usual easy-going manner. "My father raised me and my sister around horses and cattle. I think we were both riding before we were walking."

"Ahem," The small-eyed cowboy cleared his throat and shifted an uneasy gaze toward their stone-faced employer trying to gauge whether or not the off-hand remark about the girl bothered him, but there wasn't even the slightest shift in the cold features. "Then you, ah, you know all about saddle sores and bowed-legs?"

"Sure do. I made sure I packed at least two full bottles of 'Witch Hazel' before we came. You know it's the best thing for sore butts and pinched toes." The table erupted into loud guffaws as nearly every head began to nod in agreement.

"'Course, there ain't nothing like a little TLC to make things even better," another man chirped as the laughter started to die down. "You pack a 'real' witch hazel in there with ya, boy?" Once more the shouts of mirth raised the roof and Sano turned a mild shade of pink as he smiled into the howling faces.

"Nah," he replied as he pushed the pieces of roast around the plate with his fork. "Just the bottled version was all I could handle."

"Just as well," icy tones filtered from the head of the table effectively subduing the turn of the conversation. "You managed to bring enough complications with you as it is, Mr. Sagara."

"I– ah, if you say so, Mr. Saitou." Sano's dark brown eyes turned almost black with frustrated anger as he exchanged a meaningful glance with the other man. "But I thought we weren't going to talk about _that_ anymore."

"We aren't. Soujiro, pass the potatoes and gravy, will you. Kamatari has actually made something edible for once."

"Sure thing, Boss." The boy-faced man winked at Sano as he handed the dishes over to Saitou. "But you better not let Tari hear you say that or else he'll put salt in your coffee."

Saitou snorted and took the food. "Probably so," he muttered with a frown. "I swear sometimes _he's _worse than any woman I ever met for being spiteful." The scathing statement was followed once more by the outbreak of raucous laughter as the men voiced their total approval on that count. But he knew Soujiro was right. If that temperamental cook of his got whiff of his backhanded insult, he'd be cooking for himself and the men for a month.

**OoO**

But as far as Kaoru was concerned, the evening meal was something to be forgotten no matter who cooked it. The meal itself was delicious, and Kamatari's company was delightful, but the ominous presence of the Master of the House just outside the swinging kitchen doors left much to be desired. Sounds of muted conversations drifted through giving Kaoru some idea of the number of men setting in the main dining-room, and for once she decided maybe eating with the kitchen help wasn't such a bad idea. It wasn't that she was afraid she wouldn't be able to hold her own with so many men, she just wasn't in the mood to fend off so many leering looks and one-liners.

"You don't care for the roast, Kaoru?"

"Huh? What? Oh, oh yes, it's great..." A blush crept up her neck and stained the pale smoothness of her cheeks as she stuttered over being so caught off guard. "It's delicious, Tari, I guess I'm just not very hungry."

"Uh huh, Mr. Saitou has that effect on a lot of people, Honey. Don't worry about it." The somewhat effeminate man giggled behind a flamboyant gesture. "Just try to ignore him and stay out of his way, and everything will be all right."

"You think so? I mean, he really went out of his way to make sure I felt welcome." Kaoru rolled her eyes sarcastically as a snort escaped her. "I never felt so insulted and unwanted in my life. What a jerk! How can you stand to work for him?"

"Well," Kamatari started and then slid a finger down the side of his thin nose as he considered the ebon-haired girl's question. "He's usually a very fair-minded and congenial boss to work for. At least for the most part."

"The most part?"

"Yes, usually he is much easier to get along with. As long as things run smoothly that is."

"And just exactly what is his definition of smoothly?"

"Ummmm..."

"Smoothly is a ranch that runs without any fucking women poking their noses in where they don't belong, that is what smoothly is." Kaoru and Kamatari both jerked around to see the very man they were talking about scowling from the doorway. "So why don't you just keep your opinions and discussions to yourself, girly, and let Kamatari do his job."

"I– ah..." Kaoru felt her jaw drop down into her lap as she locked gazes with the boiling amber eyes. "We were just talking."

"Fine, talk on someone else's time. Kamatari we need more gravy out front."

"Oh, yes sir. Coming right up." Light brown hair fluffed as the slender man jumped to his feet and rounded the table heading to the stove. "Did you bring the boat in with you or do I have to take the pan out there?"

"Here, I brought you the boat."

"Gosh, that was awfully big of you," Kaoru muttered under her breath as she watched the thin-lipped Saitou hand the dish over to his cook.

"What did you say?" Thin eyebrows drew together in a dark look as Saitou turned a withering look onto the girl's face.

"Me?" she squeaked in alarm not sure how he could have heard her. "I didn't say a word."

"Uh huh." Retrieving the gravy from Kamatari's out stretched hand, Saitou made to leave the kitchen. "Stay out of my business, girly, and leave my staff alone as well."

"Oh fine, then who am I suppose to talk to? The horses?"

"I don't give a damn." He snarled into the face of her frustration. "That is not my concern. You just stay the hell away from my men, got that?"

"I got that!"

"Good!"

"Fine!"

"Good!" And he disappeared through the swinging doors with an angry huff.

"Eww, what an insufferable assho..."

"Kaoru! He can still hear you." Kamatari clamped a hand over the girl's mouth as he hissed the warning in her ear. "Do you want him to come back in here?" Kaoru shook her head. "All right then, you need to be more careful for goodness sake."

"But he makes me so mad, Tari." Kaoru wiped off the smear of gravy Kamatari left on her face. "What am I supposed to do? Just sit here and take it?" A tear of frustrated anger slipped out of her eye.

"Oh, honey." Kamatari wrapped a warm arm around the girl's shoulders and hugged her gently. "We'll figure something out, but for the time being you need to stay out of his way."

"Fine, but he better stay out of _my _way too."

**OoO**

It was chilly that evening, but even the drop in temperature couldn't keep the crickets from singing and chirping their sunset call as the sky began to darken. Soft hues of pink, purple, and pale orange shimmered on the horizon and as the ball of fire dipped below the edge of the world, tiny stars began to wink on across the sky. The desert was getting ready to go to bed, and nighttime bid a fond farewell to the day as it came to take its place. Soon all of the little nocturnal creatures would begin milling about searching for food and water beneath the security and comfort of the moonlit skies while the warm-blooded lizards and snakes sought out refuge from the falling temperature in the rocks and crevices of large stone formations.

It was a ritual of nature. One that happened every night, but it was a world Kaoru had never seen. Having been raised on a Ranch full of green pastures and more a temperate climate, the life cycle of the desert was something quite new to her and she marveled at the sudden changes in her surroundings and how quickly they all seemed to occur. It was like living in two places at the same time. One was hot and dusty filled with tumbleweeds and cactus, while the other was cold and mysterious hiding a wildlife and beauty she would never imagine. Suddenly the side porch of the ranch house became an amphitheater for the new sites and sounds, and the young woman found herself being immersed in a world she never knew existed.

"Nice night, eh?"

Kaoru nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of a foreign voice drifting over her shoulder. She thought she was all alone and was not expecting any company. Soft laughter greeted her show of surprise and a young man with a charming smile materialized out of the dark to come and stand beside her.

"Sorry," he apologized. "Didn't mean to scare you like that."

"It's okay," she said offering him a poor attempt at a smile. "I just didn't hear you come up, that's all."

"Well, you were pretty engrossed in the scenery when I walked by. I should have made a little more noise or something."

"Maybe," a nervous laugh echoed around her as she chanced a quick look at her new companion. "Aren't you risking life and limb being out here with me? I mean, wouldn't your boss have a tizzy if he saw you talking to me? I'm the enemy, remember?"

Soujiro laughed and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "Yep. You're the enemy all right. At least that is how he looks at the world, but I don't quite see it that way."

"Still, you could get yourself into a lot of trouble... not to mention earning me another scolding about staying from the men." Her voice sounded almost as troubled as it did angry and she scuffed the toe of her boot against the wooden floor of the porch in agitation.

"Ah, don't worry about it." Soujiro leaned nonchalantly against the support pole Kaoru was standing beside and gazed off into the distance. "He's long gone to bed by now, or at least has himself squirreled away in that cave of his doing paperwork, so he's not going to find out I'm talking to you."

"You never know, he might have x-ray vision or eyes in the back of his head." She tossed her head back and sent the length of her raven-black tresses tumbling down her back. "God knows he's strange enough to be mutated or something and I wouldn't put it past him to be spying on me just to make sure I'm as miserable as possible."

"That is altogether true and possible, but I think he has more important things on his mind right now than making sure he knows where you are every single second."

"Could have fooled me." Angry blue eyes flashed in the dim light as she turned toward her companion. "The way he pounces on me every chance he gets, I wouldn't be surprised about anything he does. I think he enjoys it if you want to know the truth."

"Hmmmm, I guess you have a point there, but I'd still not worry about it right now if I were you. Trust me, he's busy doing something else and no one is going to rat us out anyway. Nobody wants to see you get 'chewed out' or me 'in trouble'. So relax."

"If you say so." A muffled 'humph' escaped her as she moved to sit down on the steps. "I just don't get it. What did I do anyway?"

"Nothing," Soujiro moved to sit beside her. "You're a woman. That's all you have to do."

"But that's wrong. Just because I'm a woman doesn't give him the right to treat me like I'm some sort of a criminal or third class citizen."

"No, it doesn't, but there's a history between the boss and women that he doesn't talk about and that is just the way he is. It's something that happened a long time ago and since then he won't have anything to do with a woman, and he doesn't like to have them out here."

"It sounds like you don't know what it is. The problem he has with women, I mean."

"Nope, I don't know if anyone does, except maybe Kamatari, but he's so damn loyal to the boss he'd never tell anyone what happened. All I know is the boss was married once a few years ago, and something real bad happened with him and his wife. Ever since then, he's carried a real deep-seated hatred for women, and no one seems to be able to change his mind about them. They are all the same in his opinion."

"Well, that still isn't my fault. I'm not his wife."

"Thank God."

Kaoru's head snapped to the side and she caught the smirk that danced across the man's face just before he dissolved into a fit of chuckling giggles. Completely caught of guard by his candidness and humor, she found herself giggling along with him.

"I'm Soujiro Seta, by the way." He said finally after they had laughed for several minutes. "I gather your Mr. Sagara's sister."

"Yes, I'm Kaoru Kamiya." They shook hands and exchanged childish grins before turning their attention back to the fading sunset.

"Kamiya, huh? Thought his name was Sagara."

"He's my step-brother. His mom married my dad when I was about a year old or something." Kaoru looked down at her hands for a long moment as memories of the tall, broad shouldered man drifted across her mind. "His mom was the only mother I ever knew, and Sano has been my brother ever since I can remember so..."

"So, you may as well be blood related, right?"

"Right. He's all the family I have left. Actually, we are all the family either one of us has left."

"Sorry to hear that." Soujiro reached over and took one of Kaoru's callused hands between his squeezing it warmly. "It's tough losing both of your parents, but try to remember you always have each other... and your friends."

"Friends?" Her face was a mask of pained irony when she looked at him. "We don't have any friends. At least not since Dad died. It was like everyone we knew all of a sudden couldn't get away from us fast enough because we were so far in debt and busted. They were afraid we'd come asking them for help, and there wasn't a one of them that wanted that responsibility." Her voice cracked slightly as she caught her breath and looked out into the distance. "No one wanted to remember everything Dad did for them when they were down and busted up. No siree, all of that was swept under the carpet and conveniently forgotten when it looked like Sano and I might need help. The rotten bastards." The last was muttered under her breath as Kaoru bit her bottom lip struggling to keep her control.

"Hey, I'm sorry. Things shouldn't have turned out like that, Kaoru. They really shouldn't have."

"Yeah, well, they did and now Sano is stuck working for Mr. Personality-minus and I'm stuck trying to be invisible so that he can. What kind of a life is that going to be for me?" Kaoru's voice cracked as her emotions got the better of her. "I deserve better than this, Soujiro."

"Yes you do, sis." Kaoru's head jerked up and to the left as the tall figure of her brother ambled over and sat down beside her on the steps. "But I don't know what else to do. We need this job if we're ever going to pay off Dad's debts."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry, Sano. I don't mean to sound so selfish and ungrateful, its just... its..."

"I know, Missy." Sano put his arm around his sister's shoulders and hugged her close to his side. "But I promise we'll figure something out, you just have to trust me, okay? Can you do that? Can you hang on for a little while longer until I can figure out what to do?" Kaoru snuffled against his shoulder and nodded her head. "Right now I have to start taking care of Mr. Saitou's business and that means I got to go to town soon."

"Go to town?" Kaoru raised her head and looked up at the stern line of his face. "What for?"

"He wants me to hire a few extra hands for the round-up so I need to head into town and post the job openings in the paper plus distribute a few flyers around and see what kind of response we get."

"Hmmmm, I forgot about the boss needing to hire a few more hands this season." Sano and Kaoru both turned to stare quizzically at Soujiro's smirking face as his voice brought their attention back to him. "That could present some very interesting possibilities, you know?"

"Possibilities? What possibilities?" Sano's interest piqued as their new friend's smile widened conspiratorially.

"You need to hire new hands, right?"

"Yeah, and?"

"You say your sister here handles horses just as good if not better than you do, right?"

"Right. What are you getting at?"

"Stand up, Kaoru." Soujiro pulled the confused girl to her feet and made her stand directly in front of him. "Hmmm, it could work."

"What could work?" Brother and sister echoed together as curiosity became a painful reality for both of them.

"Hire _her_ as one of your new hands."

"WHAT?!" The male-female chorus chimed again.

"Sure, we're about the same size so she can wear some of my clothes until you can afford to buy her some, and we'll pass her off as one of the guys." Soujiro's face beamed.

"Are you insane?" Sano blustered as he shook his head and waved his hands in the air. "It would never work. Her hair is too long, and she's way too pretty. We could never pass her off as a guy. Besides that, she's got too many curves to hide."

"Are you trying to be stupid?" Soujiro asked as he turned Kaoru around to face her brother. "Buy her a hat and clothes that are about one size too big. Stuff her hair under the hat and keep it pulled down over her face. The pants and shirts will hide the rest of her without any problems. The boss doesn't know what half the men look like anyway. He doesn't give a rip as long as they do their jobs, so whose to say he'd look at her that close anyhow?"

"Gee, I just don't know..." Sano rubbed the back of his neck. "I still say she's too pretty to pass off for a guy."

"We'll just say she's young, seventeen or eighteen ought to do it don't you think?"

"I suppose that would explain why she doesn't have whiskers." Dark brown eye brows furrowed in a frown as the big man considered the possibilities. "Ah, shit. It's just too risky."

"Come on, Sanosuke." Kaoru grabbed the front of his shirt and looked up into his doubt filled face. "That old porcupine wouldn't have a clue what was going on because he wouldn't be expecting anything like this. He thinks I'm just an idiot woman anyway and the only thing he is concerned about is that I stay the hell out of his way and as far away from the men as I can get. Otherwise, he could care less what I do."

"What's your point, Missy?"

"The more he doesn't see _me _the better he'll like it."

"Shit, Kaoru. That is the lamest thing I ever heard."

"But she could be right, Mr. Sagara." Soujiro jumped into the middle of the brother-sister conversation. "As long as the boss doesn't have to deal with her he'll be fine, and if he ends up with another A-1 top cow-hand because you hired _him..._ well, what can he say? The job will get done, Kaoru will be out of his hair, and she won't be stuck twiddling her thumbs all day."

"Come on, Sano," Kaoru pleaded. "The worst thing that can happen is he'll find out and stuff me back in the kitchen."

"Or fire me." Sano's compressed lips and worried gaze shifted from one begging face to the other as he tried to find something wrong with the plan.

"He won't fire you, I promise."

"How do you know that, Missy? You clairvoyant or something?"

"No, I'd just tell him I did it without you knowing about it."

"Right, like he'd believe that bullshit."

"Sano, please?" Kaoru batted her long, satiny eyelashes at him even as she pushed her bow-shaped mouth into a pretty pout. "We can do this, besides, think of how much help I'll be when the round-up comes."

"Yeah, help me back into the unemployment line." He pushed his hat to the back of his head and glared at the two younger people. "All right, but if this thing goes south..."

"It won't." Kaoru and Soujiro sang in the same breath as they traded wide grins.

"I just know I'm gonna regret this. I just know it."

"Come on, big brother." Kaoru threw her arms around Sano's shoulders and hugged him. "Where is your sense of adventure?"

"Obviously playing hokey with my common sense because I must have lost my mind to ever let you two talk me into something like this."

"It'll be great. Just the thought of pulling one over on that big ape will be worth the risk of him finding out."

"That is not the attitude you are supposed to have about this, little sister. We could end up in some very serious shit if he finds out."

"Well, he's not going to find out, big brother, so don't get your tail all tied up in a knot. I can do this."

"I sure as hell hope you're right."

"Hey," Kaoru jumped off the steps and threw her arms out wide as she faced the two men. "Have a little faith in me, will ya. You're always telling me to trust you, well, how about you trusting me for once in your life? Huh?"

"This isn't quite the same thing, Kaoru. This is our future your screwing with."

"Isn't every decision we've made since Dad died been screwing with our future, Sano? Even the one that brought us out here to this Godforsaken place?"

"Okay, okay, you made your point, but if you fuck this up I swear to God..."

"I'm not going to screw it up, I promise." Her eyes implored him to believe her even as she walked back over to him. "I can do this, Sanosuke. I know I can, please let me try."

"Okay, but just you remember that 'the guys' don't talk back to _the big ape_. They show him respect and they do what he tells them to no questions asked. Got that?" He let his gaze bore down into her face as he grabbed her by the shoulders. "You have to control that damn temper of yours as well as your mouth whenever you're around him or this whole thing is going to blow up in our faces."

"I know, I know and I will. I swear."

"You do whatever you have to in order to stay away from him in both guises, understand? If he catches you..."

"Yes, I understand. Geez, Sano, I'm not totally stupid."

"No, you aren't stupid, Kaoru, you're just a damn hothead and sometimes you don't think before you open your mouth, but you're gonna have to now if you intend to pull this off. Mr. Saitou is no fool and he'll eat you for breakfast if he finds out what you're doing."

"Your brother's right, Kaoru." Soujiro touched the blue-eyed girl's arm to get her attention. "It's a great plan, if I say so myself, but you have to take it dead serious if you don't want to get caught."

"Will you two please give me some credit here." Kaoru shoved away from Sano's grasp and walked out into the yard again. "I know what's at stake and I'm not going to put our future in jeopardy just so I can screw one to the old man, but..." She turned and favored the men with a dazzling smile. "I'm going to enjoy every minute of putting one over on him that I can get, even if I have to do it behind my bedroom door where no one can see it. You can't take that away from me."

"Great, whatever," Sano started to laugh as he shook his head. "You always were the most stubborn woman I ever met, I guess I'm going to have to trust you in this, aren't I?"

"Yup," she sang as she danced around in the dimming evening light. "You don't have much of a choice, besides, we have something now we didn't have before."

"Oh, what's that, Missy?"

"A friend." And Kaoru bounded up the steps wrapping a wide-eyed Soujiro in a huge bear hug. "Things like this always work out better when you have a friend to help you out."

"Well," Sano scratched his head as he looked over at the blushing man. "I guess she's got a point there too. Thanks, my friend." Extending his hand outward Sano took Soujiro's in a tight grip that sealed the bargain between the three of them. "We can use all the help we can get."

"My pleasure." Soujiro replied. "I've always wanted to see the boss eat his words anyway." And that statement sent the three of them into a fit of laughter that lasted a good long time.

(A/N: Please be kind enough to review. Belle and I need all the feedback we can get. Besides that, we love reviews. They give us the warm fuzzies. .

Tsuki-san)

_Edited: 2/19/10_


	3. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three **

Sanosuke eyed the last flyer he was posting outside the local feed shop with a critical eye. It looked a little crooked, but for the most part it was kind of straight. Besides, it's not like it would bother anyone that it wasn't perfectly straight. Satisfied he continued down the street to turn in the advertisement to the local newspaper. He had called earlier and talked to a man by the name of Katsu who okayed the addition of the "Help Wanted" add for the ranch.

As he walked down the busy streets of the quaint little town Sanosuke cast a wary eye towards the clothing store where Kaoru and Soujiro were. When Kaoru had first mentioned the idea of wearing a disguise and working the ranch, he humored her and didn't take her seriously. But later, when she and Soujiro practically teamed up against him he couldn't deny the request. It simply wasn't fair for his baby sister to be treated like a second rate citizen.

Besides, they really could use the extra money that two incomes would provide. Their father had a substantial debt to be paid to some pretty serious men with heavy Russian accents and unforgiving dispositions. It was still hard to believe that their father could have shoveled up such a great financial hole to be filled.

He entered the newspaper office without knocking and noticed a solitaire figure in the far corner busily typing away on an ancient typewriter. It seemed like this entire town was pretty rustic. The only person that seemed to be fairing well financially was his boss, Saitou.

A pair of green eyes looked up from his work behind the typewriter and studied Sanosuke while the typing continued without pause. "I take it you are Sagara," Katsu greeted with certainty.

"Yeah," Sano answered as he glanced around at the walls decorated with various small time awards for _The Rattler, _the local newspaper. It may have been a small operation, but it appeared that this man knew what he was doing. He lifted the paper with the advertisement he had Kaoru write for him and waved it in the air. "I brought the article."

Katsu stopped his typing and stood up. He reached for the slip of paper and scanned over it quickly, absorbing the words faster than anyone Sano had witnessed before. He nodded his head briefly. "I'll have it in the morning edition."

"Um, thanks," Sano replied as he shuffled his feet. It always made him uncomfortable to be in the presence of someone who obviously worked hard. Before he and Kaoru discovered their dire need for cash he had never really worked a day in his life. Sano had been making his 'living' at the rodeo. He was pretty famous for his bull-riding and various stunts, but this whole working as a foreman was something drastically new.

Katsu flashed a grin. "No worries, I'm glad to see fresh blood coming to this dreary little hole-in-the-wall town. So I hear you have a sister as well. Did she come into town with you?" Sano nodded his head, he really didn't want to draw any suspicions but he also didn't want to draw any undo attention to Kaoru.

Katsu watched his reaction like a hawk before turning back to his desk and pulling the leaf of paper from the typewriter. "I bet Saitou doesn't like that very much," he commented casually. He pulled open his desk drawer and gathered a state of the art laptop computer. It clashed greatly with the general shabbiness of the office.

"Well, I'll be going now," Sano spoke up turning on his heel. "Thanks for putting in the article, I appreciate it." He walked to the door and had his hand upon the bar to open it when the journalist responded.

"As I said before, this sad town could use some new blood and any more cash flow from working men would certainly help the local economy. I wouldn't dream of not publishing something that could help all the residents here," Katsu replied as he was fiercely typing away on his laptop.

Sano glanced over his shoulder at the man and shook his head at seeing him absorbed in his work once more. He left the stuffy office then to catch up with his sister and her new 'brother' or rather, accomplice in crime.

**OoO**

Kaoru eyed the item in Sourjiro's hand warily. "I don't know, I mean I only need to dress the part. There is no need to go all out."

Soujiro shook his head firmly as he held out the pocket knife with resolution. "Any self-respecting cowboy must have a pocket knife, Kaoru." He grinned at her. "Any brother of mine would have one at least."

Kaoru accepted the knife with caution. She watched as Soujiro smiled in satisfaction as he tossed the empty knife box into the trash. While she was trying on various outfits he had searched to find her a pair of cowboy boots and a hat. Apparently he found a knife for her as well. "Why must any brother of yours have a knife?"

Soujiro's smile grew. "Because, I'm the best knife handler this side of the Rio Grande," he admitted with no trace of doubt. "We'll have to work on teaching you a few tricks before the day is over. I think you should return with us to the ranch this evening as Ru."

Kaoru nodded at the idea. They were going to have to spend the afternoon breaking in the cowboy hat and boots so they didn't look as if they were brand new. Kaoru eyed her reflection in the changing room and cocked the black Stetson over her brow. "I'll probably need to run over this baby a time or two with Sano's Bronco. It will look more genuine."

Soujiro shrugged. "Wouldn't hurt," he took the cowboy boots off the bench in the changing room and put them on his own feet. He kicked his worn boots over towards Kaoru. "We've got the same size foot little brother. I've been needing a new pair of boots so how about we trade?"

Kaoru looked at him skeptically, meeting his eyes in the reflection of the mirror. "Won't that hurt your feet? I'd hate to be the cause of you getting blisters breaking them in."

That persistent smile never wavered. "I need new boots," Soujiro replied easily. He handed Kaoru back her quazi-feminine clothes and stepped out of the dressing room to allow her to dress. He had told the sales person that the young woman was helping him pick out some clothing and that had explained why he would be sharing the changing room with her. The man behind the counter had been gazing at Kaoru in a way that angered Soujiro but when he surmised that she must be taken by the young cowboy with the mysterious smile he didn't question the situation. Nobody dared to question Soujiro.

Kaoru stepped out of the changing room wearing a pair of form fitting jeans, a pair of tennis shoes, and a button-up blouse. She was dressed a little bit like a tom-boy, but no one would mistake her for a man with her long, dark tresses cascading down her back. She stepped lively towards Soujiro with the items of clothing folded within her arms. She set the black cowboy hat on Soujiro's dark head of hair and grinned at him.

"Did you pay for your new toys yet?" she asked pleasantly. Soujiro nodded as he received the change from the old, lecherous man that was focused on Kaoru, but at least wasn't leering at her.

"Indeed I did, my little brother is going to be excited when he sees the clothes we picked out for him." Soujiro took the articles purchased that the old man had shoved into bags for them.

The door to the front of the retail clothing store opened and Sanosuke stood there and surveyed the room quickly. He found his two companions and strode over to them confidently. "Let's go you two; we need to meet up with that little brother of yours Sou."

"Y'all come back now, ya' hear?" the old man, Okina called as the trio headed out his front door, ringing the little bells as they did so. He didn't mind having beautiful young women in his store and he certainly didn't mind having several hundred dollars worth of clothing purchased.

Sano took the bags from Soujiro and tossed them into his Bronco before looking back down the long street towards a café with a wistful expression. His stomach growled angrily but he ignored it and got out his keys for the ignition.

Kaoru's stomach growled as well, but she placed a hand over the noisy body part, trying to ignore the hunger that was gnawing at her. Soujiro smiled at the two siblings, both obviously trying to deny their basic hunger. He knew neither really had money to spend at the moment, in fact it was his own savings that had been used to purchase the clothing from the retail store.

"Would you two care to stop for some food at the café down the street? It will be my treat," Soujiro offered. His smile grew as the siblings both gazed down towards the Akabeko with mouths that looked ready to water.

"No, we couldn't possibly impose any more," Kaoru sighed as she offered Soujiro a small smile. Sano shook his head at her answer and retorted with the opposite. "Sounds great Sou, I'm starving!"

The three climbed into the old trusty Bronco and drove it down the street to park in front of the small café. "Things are so different here," Kaoru commented when they entered the café and were greeted by a friendly young teenaged girl. She showed them to a booth near the large window at the front of the café.

"It's not the big city like where you two are from," Soujiro agreed as he dug his spoon into the soup placed before him. He glanced towards Sano and grimaced at the sight of all the food in front of him. "Perhaps I should have offered to only feed Kaoru. Sano, you're going to put me into the poor house at that rate."

Sano looked down at his food. He swallowed the mouthful and looked apologetically toward Soujiro. "I'll make it up to you," he started to say.

"Don't worry about it. I said it was my treat," Soujiro said with a broad smile.

"It's like stepping back in time," Kaoru continued as she gingerly chewed on the club sandwich in front of her. After she had heard the ridiculous amount of food Sano ordered she decided to go light herself. She had been enough burden for her kind new friend, no need to make it worse.

"You should have seen the office for the local newspaper," Sano replied around a mouth full of food. "The guy even had a typewriter! I didn't realize people still used those."

Whatever comment Kaoru was about to make to that was cut off by the appearance of a woman in her mid-thirties who came over to their table. "Hello, I'm the manager of the Akabeko, I thought I'd come and meet the new faces here." She grinned charmingly at Kaoru and Sanosuke, lingering on Sano with slight frown marring the area between her eyes at his terrible table manners.

"Ms. Tae, I'd like you to meet Sanosuke Sagara and Kaoru Kamiya. Sano is the new foreman at Mr. Saitou's ranch," Soujiro introduced and explained.

A sympathetic look was cast towards Kaoru and the woman squeezed her shoulder gently. "You poor thing, you be sure to come to the church on Sunday. You'll need to get away from that awful man as much as possible!"

Kaoru shrugged. She didn't like Saitou, but she also didn't like the way this woman called him awful. "He's not that bad," she said feeling obligated to defend. Sano's jaw dropped open at the declaration but before he could argue that point, Soujiro kicked him hard in the shins. "I'm sure he had a good reason for being the way he is."

Tae nodded acceptance at the answer but looked skeptical. "I'd still love to see you on Sunday." She looked towards Sanosuke with a rue-full glare. "I would love to see both of you there."

She left with a cheerful smile and Sano watched her back with narrowed eyes as some melted cheese smeared the corner of his mouth. Kaoru looked back at him and giggled at his expression. "What?" Sano asked, giving a visual of his chewed up food.

"It sounds like Ms. Tae thinks you need to be taught some civility," Kaoru teased. She reached her napkin towards his mouth and cleaned up the blemish with an affectionate grin, Sano couldn't possibly be angry with her when she obviously loved him so much.

Sano crossed his arms in mock contempt. "Well I am not some uncivilized brute; we'll be there on Sunday all right." He looked at Soujiro across the table. "You up for it?"

Soujiro nodded. "Of course, I always go to church as much as possible. It's the only place the Boss is sure to not go and on the rare occasion he does attend he's got to sit there all docile like the rest of."

"How was the shopping?" Sano asked.

"Remarkably easy," Soujiro answered. "Conveniently enough my little brother is only two inches shorter than my 5'9 height. It would seem we had little clothing to purchase since he'll be able to borrow most of my things."

"Can you imagine that?" Kaoru asked casting Sano a pleased look.

"Must be a good omen," Sano said.

For the duration of lunch, easy going conversation and laughter flowed from the booth near the front window. It was a nice change of scenery for the regular customers at the café. After the drought the summer before and the poor harvest it was nice to see some positive attitudes in town.

**OoO**

Aoshi Shinomori adjusted his designer sunglasses on the bridge of his nose as he continued towards the popular café. He had just returned from the city to check up on his ranch that he generally left in the capable hands of his foreman, Kenshin Himura. Luckily, his foreman was also excellent at parallel parking and was occupied doing just that in the lot behind the café.

Business had been exceptionally well for the cunning man who dealt with the stock market as well as he dealt with the ranching business. He was a great success at basically anything he tried. However, he deemed that he needed to return to his roots for a while and forego the hectic life of the big city.

As he approached the front door of the café he was surprised by the new faces he noticed walking outside. He recognized the cowboy off Saitou's ranch, Soujiro. He had tried to get him to work for him, but the boy's loyalty was something to be admired. The other two individuals were strangers. He eyed the size of the man and deemed himself superior still so then focused on the shortest of the trio.

His icy blue eyes seemed to lock with the surprisingly clear sapphire gems that were hers. For a moment it had seemed as if the whole world had come to a crashing pause as they eyed one another until she smiled shyly at him. H responded by nodding his head slightly. Then the moment was lost when the tall giant of a man beside her put his arm around her shoulder and steered her the opposite way down the street.

Momentarily stunned, Aoshi continued to watch her figure disappear around the corner. She was a beauty and it had been a long time since he allowed himself to be involved with a prize such as she. He also noticed another individual further down the street. He really didn't want to deal with the granddaughter of the lecherous old man in the retail store, so he quickly ducked inside the café where he was greeted by the owner, Tae.

"Mr. Shinomori, what a pleasant surprise to have you back in town!" Tae smiled at him welcoming as she ushered him towards the table he always requested. It was in the back corner of the restaurant where he'd have a view of everything. "Is everything all right at the Black Snake?"

Aoshi waved the question away. "Who were those two with Seta?"

"Oh!" Tae exclaimed with a smile that indicated she had her own ideas for his asking that question. "That was Sanosuke Sagara and Kaoru Kamiya. He's the new foreman that Saitou hired."

Aoshi frowned slightly at the news. He didn't care for surprises. "What happened to Hiko?"

Tae leaned down to whisper the rumor she heard in his ear. When she pulled back she was met with Aoshi's skeptical look. "So he burned down his own house and left Saitou high a dry?"

"Well, Saitou was banning alcohol of any sorts from his ranch. I believe this was Hiko's way of rebelling. You know how he is about his liquor."

Aoshi drummed his fingers on the linoleum tabletop as he surveyed the menu. "So what do you know about the woman?" he asked nonchalantly as he pointed to his desired choice.

Tae grinned knowingly at him. "She is Sagara's younger sister. If you'd like to meet her, I believe I convinced them to come to church this weekend."

Aoshi looked at her through narrowed eyes. "You know when I go to church it is not to socialize."

"Right, um, is Kenshin with you?" she asked looking past Aoshi towards the door. Considering her answer was an icy stare she seemed to decid it best to retreat. "I'll be back with your meal shortly," Tae answered as she stepped away to busy herself as soon as possible.

The little bell over the door to the café's front entrance jingled and the customers turned to give their greetings to Kenshin Himura. The friendly redhead smiled in turn, but continued on his way to his boss. He slid across from him at the table.

"Did it take you that long to park?" Aoshi asked.

Kenshin merely grinned. "Nah, but someone had hung a bunch of flyers outside of the feedstore." When Aoshi continued to glare stone-faced at him, Kenshin decided to continue not phased in the slightest. "You know how I am, I had to straighten them."

"Indeed," Aoshi agreed as Tae came and set his herbal tea before him and began to flirt shamelessly with his foreman while taking his order. If it wasn't beneath him Aoshi would have rolled his eyes at the woman's ill attempts to woe the man. If anyone was clueless it would have to be Himura. Not that such a thing bothered Aoshi as long as his ranch ran smoothly.

"Something on your mind?" Kenshin asked, noticing the thoughtful look that Aoshi was sporting. Icy eyes narrowed from across the table. "Guess not," Kenshin muttered

**OoO**

Rapidly running feet could be heard pounding against the concrete of the sidewalk. "Hey mister!" a young voice called out. "Rooster head! Do you hear me? Wait up!"

Annoyed, Sanosuke turned around to see a boy of about fifteen skidding to a halt right in front of him, sending pebbles flying in his wake. "Are you calling me a rooster?"

The teenager placed his hands on his knees and bent over, trying to catch his breath. "Shesh I didn't think I'd ever catch up to you guys."

"Is there something you would like to discuss with us?" Kaoru asked when it became apparent that all Sano wanted to do was yell considering his red face, and Soujiro seemed content to simply grin like an idiot.

"I wasn't talking to you ugly," Yahiko told her.

Kaoru frowned, but Sanosuke had enough. His fist shot out towards Yahiko's head and would have made a nice lump if Kaoru hadn't intercepted and caught his wrist. Of course the force was much greater than her buck-thirty-five pound frame could manage, but she managed to slow the attack.

Yahiko ducked out of the way and stared in shock at Kaoru, who he deemed to have just saved his life. "I just wanted to ask about the job on the ranch," Yahiko admitted.

"Why would I hire some brat?" Sano countered.

Kaoru elbowed him hard in the ribs. "What?" He glared back at her rubbing his side.

"Look, I need a job. My parents just died in a train wreck and I don't want to go back to the stupid orphanage. I can work. I can work real hard. Just give me a chance." Yahiko's dark eyes conveyed the sincerity of the words.

Sanosuke felt a rush of sympathy for the boy. "Fine, do you need to get any stuff?"

Yahiko shifted the duffle bag he was carrying over his shoulder. "I've got everything I need right here."

"What's your name?" Kaoru asked.

"Yahiko."

Soujiro gave Sanosuke a pointed look, reminded him that they were supposed to pick up Ru as well. "Well, I guess I'll just drop off the brat and Kaoru back at the ranch before picking up your brother," Sano told Soujiro.

**OoO**

Kaoru sighed as she pulled the hat lower on her forehead. Her hair was braided up in a very tight fix under the Black Stetson. She tugged on her long sleeves and cocked her brow at Soujiro. "Do you really think this will work?"

"Of course it will Ru," he assured his 'brother' as he grabbed hold of Kaoru's forearm to guide her inside the dinning room where Sanosuke said he would be introducing the two newest recruits to the men.

"He's going to recognize me," Kaoru hissed in a whisper growing more worried as they got closer and closer to the door that would lead to her doom.

Soujiro turned her to face him, a reassuring smile on his face. "Now Ru, if you weren't my brother I wouldn't even have recognized you."

"All right, let's do this." Kaoru cleared her throat and tried to walk in the general way that Soujiro and Sanosuke had tried to teach her. It was more like the way Soujiro taught her actually. Kaoru loved Sano, but she'd much rather glide like the younger man than slouch like her big brother.

When Kaoru and Soujiro entered the dining room they noticed they weren't the last to arrive. Yahiko was sitting nervously beside Sanosuke and there remained three empty chairs.

Saitou himself appeared to be late for dinner.

Unfortunately, the two seats that weren't the head of the table that Saitou claimed were the two seats on either side of him. Kaoru turned to Sanosuke and glared at him. He only shrugged, but his eyes told her that he hadn't been able to do anything about it.

"Well I'm not her keeper!" Kamatari could be heard yelling in the kitchen a split second before Saitou came storming out into the dining room. He noticed the table was full except for him and he scowled as he moved to his seat between Soujiro and some new brat.

"I'm not paying you for sitting around. Eat up and then get back to work," Saitou growled at his men as he brought his fork fiercely down stabbing at the steak that Kamatari had prepared that evening. It was rare like he liked and the blood oozed onto his plate.

Sano cleared his throat only to earn a glare from Saitou. Sitting straighter in his seat, Sano continued anyway showing his backbone for defying the annoyance of the boss man. "So everyone, I want to introduce the two new hands I've hired." He gestured to the boy at his side. "The brat over here is Yahiko and if you give him any grief, you'll regret it."

"And this is my brother Ru," Soujiro added as he pointed his fork towards Kaoru. She gave a dip of her head and continued to look down at her plate.

Beside her Saitou frowned. "Do you always wear you hat at dinner?" he demanded, obviously annoyed.

Kaoru looked around at the others at the table and half of the cowboys were also wearing hats. She knew good and well that manners were an option that few took part in. She took a drink from her water and could feel Saitou's cold amber eyes boring into her. "Sir, I plan on eating as soon as possible so I can get back in the field."

Saitou set down his fork and looked at her thoughtfully. He then glanced at the teenaged-boy before redirecting his attention to Sanosuke. "This is the best you could do? A child who doesn't even shave and this," he pointed at Koaru vaguely. "This uncivilized country bumpkin."

"I'll remind you that Ru is my brother, Mr. Saitou," Soujro remarked quietly, the smile on his face eerie in light of the tone of his voice.

"I'm proud of my choices," Sanosuke spoke up from his end of the table. "Not everyone could find two high class hands in one afternoon. Just you wait and see what they can do."

Saitou grunted in reply and continued to eat his meal in silence. Soon enough some of the older cowboys began to joke around and the atmosphere lightened up. Kaoru looked at Soujiro from across the table and exchanged a grateful look. Soujiro merely brought up two fingers to tilt his own cowboy hat that he was wearing.

Normally he wouldn't wear it at the dinner table, but he figured it would help this night.

After he finished what was on his plate Saitou stood up. "Sanosuke I need to speak with you in private."

Reluctantly and full of dread Sano followed his boss outside the dining room to stand on the porch. "Don't you think that boy is a little young?"

Automatically Sano worried that he meant Kaoru and he disagreed with Saitou.

Saitou narrowed his eyes. "Well I don't trust him. Seta's brother seems all right though. Hopefully he's not as weak as he looks. Looks like a gust of wind could knock him over."

Sano looked at him with a serious expression. "I've seen Ru ride, he's definitely an asset to the ranch, you'll see."

"When was this?" Saitou cast a look towards kitchen and then back to Sano.

Sanosuke shifted, feeling like he was being interrogated by some sort of law enforcement agent. "This afternoon when Soujiro and I went and picked him up."

"I see," Saitou remarked as he looked down the driveway as if waiting for something. "I haven't heard much from your sister today."

Sano forced himself to remain calm. "She decided to make a point to not be a distraction."

"Good, as long as she knows her place isn't here."

"I'm sure she'll make herself as invisible as possible," Sano assured him.

Saitou gave a fatherly pat on his shoulder. "Let's hope so for both your sakes."

_Edited: 2/19/10_


	4. Chapter Four

(A/N: Hope I didn't keep you guys waiting too long. Took me a little while to decide what I wanted to do, and then once I got started, the characters took over and told me where to go. We had a lot of fun. I hope ya'll enjoy what happens. We'll be in for a rough ride. So hang on. Kanzen ne Tsuki)

**Chapter Four**

_Sunday, Church Services_

Sunday morning dawned bright and clear with a stunning azure sky that took Sano by surprise. As he squinted into the brilliant blue, he caught himself wondering if it always looked liked like that or if it saved the best for the Lord's day? _'It would be fitting, I suppose.' _He thought, as he turned toward the small line of mountains that lay off to the east. A gathering of white, fluffy clouds was just beginning to form over the craggy peaks, and the tall man smiled to himself. _'Just couldn't leave well enough alone, could you? Just had to come along and mess it up, didn't you?' _Sano chuckled, _'just like a woman...'_

"What are you so happy about, big brother?"

"Just doin' a little sky gazing, little sister." Sano turned around to talk to Kaoru as she approached him from behind, and caught his breath. She was a vision of loveliness wearing a light colored dress of lavender. The scooped out neckline was just high enough not to be indecent, and the capped sleeves (if you could call them sleeves) hugged the smoothness of her shoulders in a most attractive way. The corset-like waist showed clearly that she was more woman and less girl as it accentuated her hips and breasts at the same time, and the skirt floated out around her like a gauzy bell caught in the breeze. She had pulled the long ebony tresses of her hair high up into a top knot on her head and then let them flow free down her back. The length still reached well past her shoulder blades, the glossy silk catching the suns rays and gleaming a glorious black-blue.

"Wow! You look great!"

"Do I?" Kaoru nervously turned to inspect the back of the dress as best she could. "It doesn't make my butt look big does it?"

"Hell no, are you kidding?" Sano closed the distance between them and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "You're beautiful." The anxiety that was in her eyes when she looked at him almost made him laugh but somehow he managed to keep a straight face. "I promise."

"Sano, if you're blowing smoke, just so I'll wear this medieval torture device, I swear I'll..."

"Hey, I said 'I promise' didn't I?" He leaned down and kissed her cheek before facing the blazing sapphires again. "Would I lie to you about something like this?"

"Yes," was the blunt reply from her tight lips.

"Hey, that hurts," he said pulling away with a pout. "I really meant what I said. You look really pretty in that dress. Where'd you get it anyway? I don't remember you getting a dress the other day."

"It was Kamatari's idea." Kaoru muttered under her breath and then humphed as she grasped the full skirt in both hands, lifting it out to see just how big it was. "He came packing it to my room last night in this box. I swear, Sano, it had the biggest purple bow on it I have ever seen. He must've used a role of ribbon to make it."

"How do you know he made it?"

"He told me so... Geez, you could fit an orchestra under this thing." Kaoru looked at her brother in astonishment. "Can you see this, Sano? Look. Look at this skirt thing; can you see how big it is? It's huge."

"Yeah," he started to chuckle, a wicked gleam dancing in his brown eyes. "I wanna see the orchestra thing."

"Me too. Now that would be something worth seeing. Hell, I'd even pay money." Soujiro walked up to the siblings as all three erupted into laughter over his well placed quip, and then he turned a serious face to Kaoru. "Your brother's right, Kaoru. You look fantastic. I'll give that to Tari. He may not be _totally _gay, but the man has a flair for fashion and color. He sure pegged you right on."

"You really think so?" Kaoru was biting her bottom lip which was something she did only when she was very unsure about something. "I mean, are you sure I really look okay?"

Soujiro turned a curious face to the tall, spiky haired man beside him and, rubbing his chin skeptically. "Is she always like this, or is she fishing?"

"Nay," Sano shook his head and grinned while thumping his hat on top of his head. "She's always like this. Besides, she hasn't worn a dress since she was ten."

"Ooh, suddenly everything makes sense." A sympathetic smile curved Soujiro's lips and he turned to face an exasperated Kaoru. "My dear Kaoru, you look beautiful, and that is the God's truth, I swear on pain of death." Kaoru rolled her eyes and blushed a brilliant crimson. "May I have the honor of escorting you to the church on this fine day?"

"Bleck! Somebody get a bucket and a shovel," a young growly voice said as it drifted past them. "The shit out here's gettin' deep today."

"Yahiko!" Sano barked in outrage while desperately trying to hide the grin that was threatening to break his face. "Watch your mouth, boy."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Yahiko waved a deliberately blasé hand in the air disregarding the veiled threat as nothing. "Where's this stupid church at anyway and how are we gettin' there?"

"Well, we're all going in my Bronco, but it looks like you're walking after that little un-Christian-like gem you just dropped."

"Cool, I'll just stay here then. Wasn't lookin' forward to going to no church anyways."

"No one stays home, Mr. Myojin. All of my employees attend church on Sunday, and YOU are no exception." Everyone turned and gapped at the Master of the House as he strode down the walk straightening the stark white cuffs of his shirt through the black sleeves of his suit coat. "Now get your ass in one of these vehicles and stop causing problems."

"I–I ahhh..." Yahiko stuttered as if his tongue had grown two sizes.

"Don't stand there gapped like a fool, boy, do as I said." Saitou stopped and scowled at the pale-faced teen his heated amber gaze raking the slender form critically. "Don't make me regret taking you on. I expect you to get along with the rest of the men, not be a thorn in their side, is that clear? I won't have a trouble maker on my crew, and _a wet-behind the ears whelp _like you would be just the one to do it."

"I won't be any trouble, Mister Saitou. I know my job, Sir."

"Then get along, got that?"

"Got it, Sir."

"Good, now let's move out before we're late and Parson Kincaid thinks we've apostatized." As he turned away, his sharp golden gaze brushed over Kaoru and for a fleeting moment, seemed to linger, then it was gone as if it had never been. Beside him, Soujiro felt the young woman shiver.

"Kaoru?" he asked in a quiet, concerned voice only she could hear.

"I'm alright, Sou." She squeezed his arm and nodded reassuringly. "We better make sure Yahiko is alright."

"We're already on our way, Mr. Saitou." Sano reached out and grabbed Yahiko by the scruff of his neck and yanked him off toward his Bronco. "Jeez, kid, you wanna get your ass plowed before you even get a chance to go to work?"

"No," Yahiko hissed back as he tried but failed to shake off the big mans tight grip. "Hey, you wanna let go now?"

"Nope, not 'til you're in the truck and buckled up where you can't cause any more trouble."

"Great.... thanks a lot."

"No problem, kid."

Behind them Kaoru and Soujiro were walking over to the Bronco, their faces tight with concern for the younger boy. Inside, Kaoru was reminding herself to stay calm where the sarcastic, loud mouthed teen was concerned.

The ride to the church was largely uneventful. Yahiko was sitting like a stone next to Soujiro in the back seat staring out the window as if the passing scenery was something he never saw before that day. The frozen look of disgust on his face made him look older than his fifteen years. It also proved to keep everyone from trying to engage him in any conversation. The mood inside the Bronco was somber to say the least, and by the time they reached the church, Kaoru's jitters were at an all time high.

Soujiro opened his door and piled out of the Bronco. Immediately he was at Kaoru's door opening it for her and offering her his hand. "It's a pretty long step down," he said as he grasped her by the hand and elbow. "We wouldn't want you to take a tumble in the dirt in that pretty dress, now would we? Especially not on your first social outing with the rest of the town."

"The rest of the town?" Horror colored the tone of her voice as her feet touched down in a little puff of dust, and the hand that held onto Soujiro suddenly gripped him very tight. "Does _everyone _go to church around here?"

A kind smile curled the young cowboy's mouth as he chuckled soft in his throat. Her terrified look reminded him of a cow that had just been hogtied and was feeling the heat of the branding iron getting closer to its ass. _'Poor girl,' _he thought, and placed the palm of his free hand against the small of her back. "Well now, I hate to say it, but about the only people who don't come is anyone who happens to be too sick to get out of bed, which is rare, and anybody whose not a Christian."

"Is there anyone whose not a Christian in this town?" She was biting her lip and holding onto his hand like it was a life preserver.

"Just the Wu's, and their extended family. They own and run the Chinese restaurant over on 4th street and Buckeye. They're some of that Hindu, Buddhist kind of people. Real nice people, real nice, and it's a real nice place to eat in, if you like Chinese food."

"Dear God," Kaoru stumbled over her own feet almost tripping except for Soujiro's supporting grasp. "The whole damn town is going to be in there? I'm going to die of embarrassment."

"Embarrassment?" Soujiro was completely perplexed. "What do you have to be embarrassed about? You look fine."

"I hate dresses, and I just know my butt looks huge in this big balloon."

"No it doesn't, it looks gre..."

"Good Morning, Mr. Seta, who is your lovely companion?" The slow, easy drawl caught both Soujiro and Kaoru off guard as they turned to face the owner.

"Ah, Good Morning, Mr. Shinomori. Nice to see, this is, ah, this is Miss Kaoru Kamiya. She and her brother," Sou rapidly motioned for Sanosuke to join them, "her brother, Sanosuke Sagara just moved in out at the Ranch a few days ago. Sano is Mr. Saitou's new foreman."

"How do you do, Mr. Sagara, Miss Kamiya." Aoshi tipped his black felt hat in a gentlemanly fashion causing a dark blush to stain Kaoru's cheeks. "I believe we 'almost' met the other day, in town, outside the Akabeko."

"Oh, oh yes," she stuttered nervously as the warm glint in the ice blue colored eyes sent prickles up her spine. "I think I remember. We were coming out and you were going in."

"Yes, that's right. A pity I didn't make your acquaintance then." The barest hint of a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth and Kaoru's stomach did a flip-flop.

"A-a pity?" she squeaked.

"Yes, I could have asked to accompany you to church, but I see young Seta has the matter well in hand. Perhaps we can get together and enjoy each others company another day? What do you say?"

"I–ah, I guess that would be all right. Sure, I'd like that." She smiled and looked at his boots unable to look at his face. "I guess you know where to find me."

"Yes, ma'am, I do at that. Then, if it's all right with you," Aoshi looked expectantly at Sano, who stuffed his hands into the pockets of his good pants and shrugged, "I'll call on you later... maybe this afternoon. We could go for a drive and I could show you some of the things that make this drab country of ours beautiful."

"Okay, I'd like that." Kaoru beamed, catching the fleeting look of pleasure that passed through the handsome, dark man's eyes. "What time?"

"Around six?"

"Sure."

"Good, that way I can take you out for a Sunday dinner." He half-smiled at her surprised look, tipped his hat again, bid a respectful farewell to the two gapping men, and then walked toward the front of the church.

"Wow!" Soujiro whistled. "Now that's not something you see everyday."

"What?" Sano looked at Aoshi's retreating back and then down at the younger man. "What don't you see everyday?"

"The Ice Man making a big to-do over a girl. That just doesn't happen."

"Really?" Kaoru looked stunned and pleased all at the same time as she watched Aoshi disappear through the door of the church. "Isn't that interesting."

"You have no idea, Kaoru. You really have no idea." Soujiro shook his head and then tugged on her arm. "C'mon you guys or we're going to be late, and you _never _want to be late for one of Parson Kincade's sermons."

"Why not?" Yahiko asked as he jogged up next to Sou. "What's the big deal about being late?"

"Well, if you're late..."

"He makes you sing in the choir up on the podium." Saitou's harsh voice reached their ears as he strode past them. The fury in his eyes was a chilling thing and Kaoru shrunk back against her escort because it seemed to be directed solely at her. "What the hell were you doing talking to Shinomori?"

"Wh-what?"

"He owns the rival ranch on the other side of town and I don't want you having anything to do with him. Do you hear me?"

Kaoru bristled like a cat facing a pit bull. "You can't tell me whom I can see and who I can't, you aren't my father."

"As long as you're under my roof, you'll do as I say, you little hell cat!"

"I don't think so, you over grown baboon! You told me I couldn't fraternize with your men; you never said anything about the men in town."

"I don't care what 'I never said', I'm saying it now. You can't see him and that's final!"

"Bullshi..."

"Kaoru!" Sano grabbed her by the arm and yanked her back from Saitou before she finished what she was going to say. "Have you lost your damn mind? We're at the church for pete's sake."

"Lemme go, Sano, or else." Furious blue jewels glittered dangerously as Kaoru struggled in the tall man's grasp. "He can't run my life like this especially when he doesn't want to see my face. He has no right to tell me what to do, dammit, now let me go or I'll scream."

"Ha, just like a woman. Resorting to underhanded, dramatic techniques to get her own way. Why am I not surprised? You're pathetic." Scowling, Saitou shifted his gaze to Sano. "I don't want Shinomori on the ranch, do you understand, Sagara?"

"I understand, Mr. Saitou, but I don't think it is right for you to tell my sister who she can and can't date. After all, isn't that my decision to make? I'm her brother, and she isn't even your employee so you really don't have a say in the matter."

"Excuse me? Are you defying my decision?"

"Yes, Sir, I am, to a point. I understand your reasons for not wanting Mr. Shinomori on the ranch, but I see no reason why Kaoru can't meet him outside the front gates. Would that be an acceptable compromise... Sir?"

Saitou knew Sano had backed him into a corner and inside he was squirming uncomfortably. If he said 'no', he was being totally unreasonable, but if he said 'yes', he was giving in to that little bitch's demands. Either way he was screwed.

"Fine, but I better not even see the cloud of dust from his truck, is that clear?"

"Yes, Sir. Crystal clear. Thank-you for being agreeable... this time." Saitou nodded, offered one last glare at the furious blue-eyed woman and walked away.

"Ewwwwwwww, he makes me so mad, I wish I could shoot him in the ass."

"Kaoru!" Sano shook her. "Cut that out or you're going to ruin the nice little trade agreement I just made for you and Mr. Black Hat."

"I know, and I appreciate it, but I still want to shoot that filthy mouthed orangutang in the ass. I know it would make me feel a lot better."

"Jeez, and we're supposed to take _her_ to church?" Yahiko rolled his eyes. "God's gonna strike us dead the minute we walk in the door, poof! And we'll all be a bunch of ashes on the floor for Parson Kincade to sweep up later."

Kaoru blanched and relaxed in her brother's arm. "Sorry, I guess I shouldn't have got so hot, huh?" She offered Sano and Soujiro a sheepish smile.

"It probably wasn't the smartest thing you've ever done, no, but you did stand up for yourself, and for once, you were right." Sano cocked his head so he could look into Kaoru's red, contrite face. "Mr. Saitou was being completely unreasonable and he crossed the line. I'm the only one who can tell you what to do these days."

"Yeah, yeah, so you keep reminding me." Kaoru pulled away. "Thanks for backing me up though."

"Sure thing, sis."

"I guess it's a good thing cowboys don't carry guns anymore, huh?" Yahiko hitched at his new pair of Levis and scratched his nose. "If they were, Mr. Saitou would sure be in for a big surprise." Three pairs of eyes turned at looked at the teen as an evil chucked bubbled out of his throat. "I'd almost pay to see that, buso." Yahiko looked over at Sano. "Hey, I thought you just said the church was going to cave in on my head?"

"I did, but that doesn't mean I'd like to see you drill that old persimmon first." A devilish wink followed the comment and Sano whacked the kid in the back of the head in good natured big brother fashion. "Hey, cut it out. I didn't say she _should _do it, just that I'd like to see it."

"Wouldn't we all, kid. Wouldn't we all." Sano chuckled and scuffed the powdery dust with the tip of his boot as he bent his head hiding the smile. "Let's go before we get stuck in that damned choir. I don't know about you guys, but I can't hold a tune in a bucket."

"Nope, me neither." Soujiro placed his hand back in the small of Kaoru's back again and gave her a gentle shove towards the church. "I don't even want to think about Yahiko. The very image gives me the willies."

"Very funny, pretty boy. I bet the buso can't sing either."

"Just like a dead nightingale. Flat and stale." Sano dodged the right hook that was aimed at his head. "Woowee, you're getting closer, girl."

"Shut-up you big jerk or I'm going to tell Parson Kincade you like to sing." That fiercely spoken statement put a scowl on the big man's face and sent Soujiro and Yahiko into peals of laughter.

Services inside the small-town church that Sunday morning was decidedly quieter than usual. Parson Kinkade found himself quite perplexed by the situation. It seemed that the two ranchers in his congregation were both completely absorbed with one of the new members of his fold. A young, attractive woman with startling black hair and clear blue eyes. She was sitting with some of the _Star S _ranch crew as well as a tall man with spiky brown hair, and a boy who looked almost as if he could the big man's younger brother. The odd thing about the ranchers interest was that Mr. Shinomori's gaze was nothing if not admiring which in itself was astonishing. The man had been single for years, and Parson Kinkade had all but given up on him ever getting married. Miracles still happened, perhaps... But then there was Mr. Saitou. The gaze he rested upon the young girl was malicious, malevolent, and altogether unpleasant. Why, if Parson Kincade didn't know the man better, he would say the gaze was... hateful.

'_Surely not, Mr. Saitou is a charitable man. There isn't a mean bone in his body even if he doesn't come to service very consistently. Why he even hired that pitiful drunkard, Hiko Seijuro... I wonder what's become of that poor soul since he burned the foreman's quarters down? Hmmmm... Mr. Saitou didn't even press charges. That shows what a forgiving man he is. Why then is he looking at this girl with such malevolence? I wonder if that man is the new foreman I heard he hired? It would stand to reason since the man had a younger sister, but I heard nothing about a younger brother.'_

The parson scratched his chin in an absent minded manner as he listened to the choirs off-tune rendition of '_The Lord is My Light'._ His eyes closed and the words trailed through his mind like a warm desert breeze.

'_God be with you till we meet again, by his Counsels guide uphold you; with he sheep securely fold you. God be with you till we meet again. Till we meet, till we meet, Till we meet at Jesus' feet (till we meet). Till we meet, till we meet, God be with you till we meet again._

That was when it hit him, and the thought brought him straight up in his chair nearly toppling over the small table next to him that held his Bible and glass of water. _'No, it couldn't be.' _He said to himself. _'Surely he's not letting the past poison his emotions concerning a perfect stranger simply because she's a woman? Could he?' _The wary hazel eyes shifted and homed in on the man in question. There Parson Kincade found Saitou not only glaring with malicious intent at the young woman, but there was a muscle ticking along his jaw that proved he was agitated beyond words. The usually thin lips were pressed so tightly together, they almost disappeared. The Parson frowned as a knot of worry tied it self up in his stomach.

'_I don't like the look of this at all,' _he thought, and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. _Nope, not at all. Just what in blazes is going on in your mind, Mr. Hajime Saitou, and why are you so angry over one pretty little woman?'_

Saitou's temper was almost beyond his ability to control. He could feel the heat of it burning up his neck and smoldering along the edge of his ears and cheekbones. Thankfully the deep tan he acquired for working outdoors hid the flush in his skin quite well, otherwise, he would be putting on quite a show. The sting of his new foreman's words was still fresh in his mind, but worst of all the fact that the man was right was a hard pill to swallow. It was still stuck in his throat.

How dare that little hussy do this to him? Bringing Aoshi Shinomori onto his land? Was she out of her sun-stroked mind? Didn't she realize that what she was doing could be extremely detrimental to his cattle business? Shinomori had been trying to get Soujiro to work for him for at least three years, and he was trying to buy up the river bottom land at the south edge of Saitou's property line. If that happened, at least a third of the water Saitou used for his stock would be diverted to Shinomori's animals because the natural stream Saitou was using went through that piece of property. Shinomori would own the water, and Saitou knew he wouldn't be any too willing to share it for free. Water was like gold out here in the deserts of New Mexico. If you had it, you kept it.

Saitou had been trying to get the Widow Lydmyer to sell him that land for the last eight years since her husband, Jim, died, but the old bitty just wouldn't part with it. However, she didn't seem to care if he used the water, but he knew Shinomori. That slick, big city shark. He'd find a way to either woo, con, or wheedle that property out of the old woman, and then he'd be screwed. The asshole would probably charge him up the rear for water privileges, if he so deemed Saitou worthy of his benevolence.

'_Damn that girl,' _he fumed fisting his hands until the knuckles turned white. _'Damn her to hell.'_

(A/N: Hehehehe... Your turn, Belle. I think Kaoru and Saitou are pretty much sworn enemies at the moment. But Aoshi ought to make her feel better. Burn, Saitou, Burn. I hope everyone enjoyed the fireworks. I had a blast with this one. Tsuki- san)

_Edited 2/19/10_


	5. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five **

The service was pleasant enough, but Kaoru had that uneasy feeling one acquires while being watched. It's bad enough to feel eyes from one direction, but she had the uncanny suspicion that everyone at the congregation was watching her every move and the giant tent of a dress she was wearing didn't make things any better. The service couldn't finish fast enough as far as she was concerned.

People were beginning to crowd around her bench to welcome her, Sano, and Yahiko to the congregation. Mrs. Jefferson was one of a million it seemed to make the special effort to greet them; however, they were not too keen on being the center of attention.

"It's so lovely to have new blood in our quaint little town. So word has it that you are working for Mr. Saitou." She winked at Kaoru. "If I wasn't married and was thirty years younger I'd give you a run for your money at that handsome man."

Kaoru's eyes bulged at the woman's assumption. "It's nothing like that. Sano is his foreman, and Mr. Saitou has been kind enough to allow me room and board at his ranch," Kaoru explained. She felt Soujiro's hand move to her own as he cast the older woman a warm smile.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Jefferson, but we really must head back to the ranch. There is a lot of work to do, you understand?" Soujiro smiled politely at the woman and placed his other hand on Yahiko's shoulder to guide the two out of the church. Sanosuke followed behind, allowing the younger cowboy to lead the way.

It was impressive how the crowds parted for Soujiro and his companions. Unfortunately, it appeared that the majority of the church members had identified Sanosuke's Bronco as being new and were waiting for them there. "Can't these people just ignore us?" Sanosuke grumbled as he reached into his front shirt pocket for a jolly rancher to chew on--Kaoru had banned him from indulging in smokeless tobacco years ago after he lost a bet to her in a game of Texas Hold'em.

"It isn't likely that they'll ignore you three. It's been a while since anything really newsworthy has happened to this town," Soujiro explained. He glanced around the church courtyard for a solution that would cause the least amount of turmoil for his new friends. He winced when he noticed Mr. Saitou leaning against the outer wall of the church smoking a fresh cigarette speaking with the parson. However, his eyes were focused with a deadly intensity on Kaoru.

"What's wrong?" Kaoru asked, sensing Soujiro's tension right before he dropped her hand. He smiled at her amicably. Kaoru's eyes narrowed. "I'm not buying the happy-go-lucky act."

Soujiro sighed and cast one last wary glance towards Saitou. "I don't think it's a good idea for you to head back to the ranch just yet. If looks could kill you'd be six feet under doll."

A large shadow loomed over the group of friends. It was a large shadow that fit the form of one Aoshi Shinomori. "Miss Kamiya," Aoshi greeted reaching for her hand and lifting it to his lips to press a soft, but firm kiss to the back of her knuckles. His eyes never wavered from hers as he kept her hand in his. "I'm afraid that this morning when I made the offer for this evening a previous engagement with a business associate slipped my mind. I'll be out of town for a few days."

Kaoru frowned slightly in disappointment but quickly masked the feeling. "I understand, perhaps another time," she said dismissively as she tried to retract her hand from his grip.

Aoshi smiled slightly at her as he released her hand. "I had hoped you would say that." He glanced towards Sano's vehicle and the mob waiting for them there before glancing back down at the woman before him. "Could I perhaps take you to lunch now and give you a tour on Wednesday evening as an alternative?"

"I don't think that's a good idea," Sanosuke interrupted slipping his body in front of Kaoru's and eyeing Shinomori suspiciously. Soujiro placed his hand on Sano's shoulder and gently pushed him out of the way so that Kaoru wasn't blocked.

"I think that would be an excellent idea, Mr. Shinomori. I trust you will return her safely back to the Star S before dinner this evening?" Soujiro prompted. He ignored the hateful glare he knew he was earning from both Sano and Saitou. Frankly, the giddy feeling he knew Kaoru would be feeling was of a higher priority.

"Of course," Aoshi promised as he offered his arm to Kaoru. "Well, Miss Kamiya may I have the pleasure of your company?"

"Jeez, just go Ugly!" Yahiko cried as he gave Kaoru a sound push from behind. His dark eyes widened in surprise when his unexpected force knocked Kaoru off balance and she began to fall.

Shinomori had impressive reflexes and caught the falling woman moments before she would have made an unsightly crash in the dirt outside the church and ruined her frilly dress. Suddenly the woman found herself blushing as she was pulled up against the well-built chest of the rancher. Aoshi's arms were wrapped around her waist, his hands rested upon the small of her back. He released her after steadying her on her feet; however, he caused her heart to beat erratically in her chest and it would not be calm for some time.

Sanosuke felt his temper rise when he saw Yahiko push his little sister. He was at first glad that Shinomori had caught her, but then his anger grew even higher when he saw how the rancher held her. Sano gave Yahiko a firm shove in the shoulder and a scolding look before pulling Kaoru over towards him and dusting off the invisible dust on her shoulders. "Do you want to do this?" he asked quietly in a voice for only her ears.

Kaoru was looking over his shoulder now at the approaching form of Saitou and she nodded vigorously. "I think the sooner the better. Bye Sano, I love you." She reached up on her tiptoes and gave his cheek a quick kiss before giving Sourjiro a wink and Yahiko an ugly look. She accepted Aoshi's offered arm and walked with him quickly towards his extended cab, heavy-duty pickup truck. The congregation gave Shinomori a wide berth so there were no obstacles to their exit.

Not two seconds after her departure, Saitou arrived at Kaoru's former location. Soujiro had a wide grin upon his face, Yahiko was blushing in embarrassment for almost hurting Kaoru with his head hung low, and Sano was glaring at the retreating form of Shinomori and didn't notice the arrival of his boss until his rough hand landed upon his shoulder.

Sano jumped slightly at the unexpected contact but smoothly recovered and turned to see Death himself staring straight at him. And Death did not look happy. "Sagara," Saitou began as he blew an acrid puff of smoke in his foreman's face. Sano felt his mouth go dry as cotton at the look on the older man's face. "Where is your sister going, pray tell?"

"Mr. Saitou, I believe we already discussed before this morning's service that was something that shouldn't concern you," Sanosuke answered as calmly as possible. He tried to ignore the slight crack in his voice

Saitou's amber eyes narrowed into slits and he removed his hand. "Touché ." He cast his deadly glare towards Soujiro and ignored the young boy completely. "I didn't see your brother at service today, Seta."

Soujiro's pupils dilated briefly but he gave no other reaction. "Ru was," he paused trying to choose his lie carefully. He should have thought about this earlier! He hated lying! However, as luck would have it he was pretty good at it when necessity required such actions. He cleared his throat. "Ru was feeling ill. We received word from our parents that his dog passed away early this morning."

"No! That's horrible!" Yahiko exclaimed, feeling a rush of sympathy for the other new cowhand. He didn't really know the other man but he felt a bond with him for both being the newest additions to the ranch. "How old was the dog?"

Soujiro looked at the teenaged boy with a calm smile. "Rex was thirteen years old. Don't worry about Ru. He'll be alright, he wanted to go home and bury him personally, but he should be back in the morning."

Saitou was watching the blue-eyed cowboy closely. There was something fishy about his answer. He didn't think that Soujiro would lie to him, but since he had no proof he had no reason to doubt his story either. "This better not happen often."

"Excuse me, Sir, but you hardly attend services yourself. Why are you suddenly so concerned about the practices of your cowboys?" Soujiro asked.

"Perhaps I want to be more responsible in my duties to the Lord and don't want a bunch of heathens working for me," Saitou answered taking a drag from his cigarette. "Your brother's not a heathen, is he?"

"The guy's dog just died! Have some sympathy!" Sanosuke growled as he crossed his arms over his chest defiantly. He was glad that Saitou's attention had been focused elsewhere from his sister.

Saitou gave Sano a bland look and the looked over his shoulder as Aoshi and Kaoru drove away from the church. "You better get back to your vehicle. I'm sure the church crowd still has plenty to interrogate you with. Don't take too long to get back to work." Saitou took one last drag on his cigarette before tossing it to the dirt and grounding it out with the toe of his boot.

**OoO**

Kaoru looked over nervously at the dark, handsome, mysterious man that was sitting so close to her driving the obviously expensive truck. Her breathing felt shallow and her heart was still racing at being in his presence. She was disappointed in herself for letting some man cause her to react in such a fashion.

"Would you like to eat at the café from before?" Aoshi turned to look at her briefly. "The place where we almost met," he elaborated. "Or," he said stopping at the deer crossing sign and waited for a small fawn to cross alongside his mother. "Would you prefer to see my ranch the Black Snake?"

Kaoru bit her lip trying to make such a decision. She had a bad feeling that church crowd simply would migrate to the café. "Will the café be busy?"

Aoshi's icy eyes twinkled with amusement. "Oh yes, I'm afraid the crowd you avoided outside your brother's truck would simply take advantage of you at the café."

A visual of the Sunday crowd swarming around her and Aoshi caused Kaoru to giggle in spite of herself. "Sounds like I'd be a fool if I didn't take this opportunity to see the Black Snake Ranch!"

"You won't regret that decision," Aoshi assured her. "Besides, my foreman will probably have a large lunch prepared."

"Your foreman will have a lunch prepared?"

Aoshi shrugged slightly. "I guess I'll be honest, I anticipated that you'd allow me to save you from the mob. So when Himura called to inform me about my business meeting he suggested that I invite you over for a meal he'd like to prepare."

"Okay, but he's your foreman?" Kaoru asked, trying to gain some clarification as she stared at the man beside her and couldn't help but admired his profile. He was absolutely dashing and around him she felt giddy like a school girl.

"He became involved in an anger management class a few years back and cooking is his way to relieve stress. He's quite talented. I dare say he'd give Tae a run for her money if he had the heart to do so," Aoshi boasted with obvious affection for his friend and employee.

The two rode in silence. It became apparent that Aoshi was not a big talker and Kaoru became pre-occupied absorbing their environment. However, when Aoshi's ranch came into view she lost her breath. If Saitou's ranch could be described as rustic Aoshi's was the opposite and looked almost futuristic, yet just as beautiful.

"Like what you see?" Aoshi asked quietly as he parked his truck in front of his mansion, for no other word could describe it.

Kaoru turned to nod at him. "I very much like what I see."

Aoshi's roughly calloused hand reached across the distance between them and gently cupped her cheek. He bent close to her, bringing their lips very close together. Kaoru's gaze focused on his lips, barely hearing the words he spoke. "I like what I see as well," he declared before reaching his other hand to unfasten her safety belt and push open her door.

He then pulled away completely from her, exited his truck, and walked around front to help her out of the passenger seat like a gentleman that only existed in Southern romance novels. He grabbed hold of her waist and lifted her up and over onto the grass covered lawn, his fingers lingered on her slim waist longer than necessary.

Kaoru was feeling overwhelmed by the man before her. She had never before felt so much charged energy in the presence of a man, other than Saitou, but that was mostly animosity. Things were moving uncomfortably fast, but then he was about to be gone for several days, so perhaps she didn't have time to waste being timid.

Before she could think further on those feelings she found she didn't have to. "Miss Kamiya, this unworthy one is honored that you will be joining us for lunch," a new and pleasantly soothing voice greeted. Kaoru looked towards the front of the drive and noticed a man with beautiful red hair, arms folded over his chest, smiling warmly at her.

If Aoshi's mansion was impressive from the outside it was simply unreal inside. The floor was a combination of marble and dark wood. She took off her shoes at the front door as was apparently the custom in the Shinomori residence. Throughout the space the furniture was solid wood and there were several artist pieces of Japanese style.

"It's like you live in a museum," Kaoru said awed.

Aoshi chuckled. "Not quite. You should see my 61 inche LCD television in the den and the projector in the theatre room. There's nothing ancient about either of those." He offered his elbow to her and she accepted it with only a slight hesitance. "Let's not let our supper grow cold. I'll be happy to give you the tour later."

"Supper? I thought we were having lunch?"

"It's the same thing, just a different terminology."

"You'll enjoy the supper I made, Miss Kaoru," Kenshin said with a friendly smile as he led the way to the dining room.

Kaoru's breath caught in her throat when they reached the dining room. The table was elegant and the silverware was actually silver. A feast sat in the middle of the table with whifs of steam rising invitingly. But what caught her attention was the framed painting that served as the focal point of the room above the fireplace.

It was the same painting that her father loved. It was based off an old Japanese myth involving a great battle between the White Tiger and the Dragon.

"Are you all right?" Aoshi asked noticing her reaction.

"My father had that same painting," Kaoru said trying to compose herself and stop the tears that had gathered in her eyes. She wasn't weak. She missed her father, but now wasn't the time to have another crying session. "I've never seen a fireplace in someone's dining room."

"It gets cold some nights in New Mexico," Aoshi said pulling out a chair and gesturing for her to sit.

"I think you'll enjoy this meal," Kenshin said removing the top from the center plate on the table. Revealed with in was a turkey where one-third of the meat was finely sliced and sitting ready to be enjoyed. Next to the turkey two bowls. "I'm sure you recognize the turkey, and though I recognize it's not Thanksgiving it's good all year round. We also have Jasmine rice and a lovely assortment of healthy vegetables that work wonders to improve one's eyesight."

"As long as you don't get upset when I ask to pack up left-overs I think we'll all enjoy this meal," Kaoru said with grin.

"I do believe there's plenty to go around," Kenshin said with smile obviously pleased by her words.

Aoshi began to help himself to the servings on the table. "Help yourself, Kaoru. We're informal here," he said. He used a large spoon to scoop up a load of the vegetable cocktail and held it out toward her plate. "Would you like some?"

"Yes, please," Kaoru said picking up her plate and moving it closer. The three of them filled their plates with Kenshin's mouthwatering meal. Kaoru's eyes fell once again on the artwork above the mantle. "It's a lovely piece."

Aoshi's gaze followed the direction of her eyes. "Thank you."

"My father had the same painting. It's based off a Japanese myth involving the white tiger and the dragon. I have no idea what the real legend says because he used to make up stories about it's meaning all the time." Kaoru smiled fondly at the memory. "It was never the same tale twice!"

"I recently acquired this in auction," Aoshi said. "It would be interesting if it was your father's."

Kaoru took a deep swallow of her sweet tea. The word auction sent a sharp pang to her chest. She and Sano had sold all their father's worldly possessions to try and help pay off the debt. The possibility that the painting could have been her father's was too surreal.

Aoshi seemed to have picked up on his discomfort because he changed the direction of the conversation. "How are things at the Star S?"

"The ranch is nice enough, good crew working the fields, nice stock. But that Saitou!" She stabbed a long spear of asparagus with an angry jab of her fork. "He makes me so mad! He treats me like I'm some moron whose purpose of life is to make him miserable. I've hardly said ten words to the man!"

"And you're not a moron?" Aoshi asked with a cool expression before calmly drinking from his glass.

"Of course not!" Kaoru exclaimed setting down her silverware and leaning across the table toward Aoshi. "I was a certifiable genius I'll have you know! I started college at sixteen and a half and finished in three years with a double major in Accounting and Animal Science."

"Then why are you not gainfully employed? And why do you speak in the past-tense about being a genius. Are you saying that you're average now?" Aoshi prodded.

She folded her arms over her chest. "It's complicated."

"Don't be angry, Miss Kaoru," Kenshin interjected. "Aoshi is only concerned as am I and we only wish to understand more about you."

"I might understand complicated," Aoshi added. "What happened?"

"I was earning my Masters degree in Business and only had a few months left when something happened and I had to withdraw from the program," Kaoru mumbled looking down at her plate. The memories of loss and anger were just brewing below the surface at talking of the incident.

"You don't need a Masters degree to be an accountant," Aoshi said.

"Only if you want to be a good one," she countered.

"Perhaps you'd like to meet with my accountant on the ranch. You might find you enjoy the sort of work he does. He's ready to retire soon so perhaps you'd even enjoy being his replacement." Aoshi began to resume eating as if he hadn't just offered Kaoru the opportunity to realize her dream.

"You want me to work for you?"

"Not especially, but I would like to see you more often." Aoshi glanced to his side at Kenshin. "What do you think, Himura?"

"I think Miss Kaoru would learn a great deal. We wouldn't want her mind to rot from being exposed to Mr Saitou too frequently, that we wouldn't."

Kaoru looked from one man to the next and laughed. "I'll think about it," she said with a smile. The sense of insecurity she'd started to feel was instantly forgotten in light of the unexpected offer. Maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't have to give up on her old goal just because she and Sano were facing difficulties with their family obligations.

**OoO**

Two pair of galloping horses pounded their hooves into the freshly packed earth as the riders gathered. Soujiro had volunteered the two of them to work on the pastures at the far end of the Star S Ranch, the property closest to Shinomori's Black Snake Ranch.

"So I told him that your dog died and that you had to rush home to bury him," Soujiro explained to Kaoru as they reached the fences marking the border between the two ranches. "We need to check the fencing for any repairs that might need to be made," he explained as he slowed his horse to a walk to inspect the posts.

Kaoru followed his example and pulled her horse up to a different section of fence to look over. "So does this dog have a name or anything?"

"Rex and he was thirteen. Other than that I decided to leave the details up to you, but I figured you could also use the line 'I don't want to talk about it,' that usually works." Soujiro hopped off his horse and pulled the wire cutter and some barbed wire from the satchel on the side of his horse's saddle.

Kaoru slid off her horse and walked towards Soujiro to help him fix the fencing. She held the wire with her leather gloved hands as he snipped off the rusted wire to replace it with a fresh one that wouldn't give someone tetanus by accident. "So what did Saitou say about you volunteering us to work out here? Aoshi told me about how Saitou fears you going to leave him to work for Shinomori."

Soujiro laughed good naturedly. "As much as I respect Mr. Shinomori, Mr. Saitou has my loyalty Ru," he assured her. His keen hearing picked up the sound of an approaching pair of horses coming from the neighboring property. He looked up from his fence work and forced a smile on his face at the unexpected company.

"Hello Soujiro, Kaoru, fancy seeing you both out here," Kenshin greeted as he stopped his horse on his side of the fence. A fellow rider stopped several yards back from Kenshin and that cowhand was checking the ears of the cattle in the area for any insects or other pests that might need treated.

"I'm afraid you're mistaken, Mr. Himura," Soujiro corrected with a hand upon Kaoru's shoulder as she adjusted the brim of her hat to shadow more of her face. "This is my brother, Ru."

Kenshin's brow raised in speculation as he looked back and forth between the two. Kaoru reached out a gloved hand to meet Kenshin's gloved one. "Good to make your acquaintance Mr. Himura," Kaoru greeted in a lowered pitch voice than her normal one.

"Likewise," Kenshin agreed as he took the offered hand. He gave Soujiro and Kaoru a last questioning look. "I guess you do have the same eyes," he admitted reluctantly. "Forgive me for my poor assumption. I recently met Miss Kamiya and was hoping to run into her actually."

"Oh?" Kaoru asked, feigning interest so that he wouldn't suspect her real interest in that statement.

Kenshin shrugged as he reached into the front pocket of his shirt and bit off a piece of beef jerky. He had never acquired some of the more unhealthy habits that most cowboys pick up involving tobacco, but a piece of jerky suited his needs perfectly. He offered a piece to Kaoru and Soujiro but they both declined.

"I'm sure you are both aware that she came over for supper last Sunday," Kenshin said. He looked past the two cowboys in the general direction of Saitou's ranch house. "I spoke with Mr. Shinomori on the phone earlier and his business conference will take longer than anticipated."

"He's at a business conference?" Soujiro asked interested to know why Shinomori would be at a conference while Saitou was not also in attendance.

"Well he's at a business meeting right now, but there is a conference also this week. I believe Saitou will be receiving an invitation to it today as well." Kenshin took another bite from his jerky before continuing. "Mr. Shinomori wanted to ask Kaoru to a dinner party the conference is hosting. It is a black tie affair. Would it be possible to pass the invitation to her?" Kenshin looked directly at Kaoru. "It will be on Saturday night. This Saturday."

She nodded her head and purposely lowered her voice again. "I'll see to it that Miss Kamiya gets the message Mr. Himura."

Kenshin gave her a curt nod before turning his horse around. "Well I have a ranch to run; you two take care and watch out for Water Moccasins. I noticed one out here two days ago," Kenshin called over his shoulder before he turned away from them completely. He spoke with the other cowboy that had traveled with him before they continued away.

"He knows," Kaoru moaned as she watched the red haired cowboy disappear into the distance.

"Probably, but then Himura is especially perceptive. He won't reveal our secret though," Soujiro assured her. He handed her the roll of wire he was holding. "Come on; let's finish this job so we can get back to handing the cattle."

"Do you really get Water Mocassins around here?"

"Sometimes Rattlers, the Diamond Heads are most common. Given our proximity to the water here I wouldn't completely discount the possibility of a couple of Cotton-Mouths."

"Cotton-Mouths?"

Soujiro grinned and held his hands together at the base of the palms with the fingers spread away in the shape of a snake's mouth. "Right before they bite you their mouth opens wide and all you see is the white of their throat." He snapped his hand closed and Kaoru jumped. "They're wicked fast."

**OoO**

Kaoru was walking inside the ranch house by herself. Soujiro needed to stop off and take care of some other business so he had sent her alone to give Saitou the reports that needed to be filed for that day. She found the rancher in his office with his feet propped up on his desktop smoking a cigarette with his eyes closed.

He seemed to hear her approach and cracked an eye to watch her. "That my report?" he questioned as he leaned forward in his chair and snuffed out the cigarette in the overflowing ash tray.

"Yes sir," Kaoru answered in the quiet deep voice she'd assigned for Ru. She frowned at all the evidence of his smoking habit and gestured towards the pile of ash and burnt out cigarettes with the papers in her hands. "Those will lead you to an early grave."

"Good," Saitou snapped as he yanked the reports from her hands. Kaoru tipped her hat and then was about to leave when Saitou grabbed hold of her wrist, stopping her hasty retreat. She forced herself to remain calm when he pulled her towards him very grateful that she wore a long flannel shirt and couldn't actually feel the man's callouses on her flesh.

"Have a seat boy, I haven't really had a chance to talk to you yet," Saitou ordered in a paternal tone. It was a tone that Kaoru was unfamiliar with; because unlike most times he spoke to her it was merely a gruff sound as opposed to a voice laced with hostility.

"Yes sir," Kaoru agreed as she sat across from the man stiff-backed while gripping the arms of the chair in a white-knuckle hold.

"I'm not going to bite you, despite the rumors," Saitou joked, catching Kaoru completely off guard by seeming to posses a sense of humor. "I haven't seen much of you kid, but from what I hear from the other hands Sano and your brother were right in hiring you. You're a true asset to this ranch."

"Thank you sir," Kaoru answered, trying to focus on a point just beside Saitou's head. She didn't want to meet that amber stare for fear that he would figure it all out.

"Stop acting like some submissive slave, boy," Saitou scowled as he tossed the stress relief object from his desk drawer towards the cowhand. Kaoru caught the red squishy star on reflex and blinked in shock. "That's better, at least now you aren't in that 'Yissir' trance-like state."

"My apologies Mr. Saitou, I only meant to defer my respect."

Saitou waved his hand dismissively. "You and Soujiro are probably the only two well mannered cowboys on this land. It must be a Seta family thing. But then," his eyes narrowed, "it's funny for someone so set on polite behavior to wear his cowboy hat at the dinner table."

Kaoru opened her mouth to protest, but Saitou silenced her with a raised hand. "No need to defend yourself, I'm sure you have your reasons." He gave Kaoru a serious look before continuing. "However, I don't want any more excuses for you missing church on Sundays."

Kaoru blinked at him in astonishment. "You wanted to talk to me about my church attendance, sir?"

"If you are working here, I want to make sure everything is right within you," Saitou explained in his 'I know what is right and am never wrong' manner.

"But sir, I prefer to worship the Lord in solitude. I appreciate this job, but you can not force me to attend church with the rest of the crew. I was under the impression that you rarely attended services." Kaoru paused, trying to think of another good reason for her refusal. "It's against the law sir, and you know it to press this issue."

Saitou frowned, now he felt an extra responsibility for this boy. Perhaps some traumatic experience scarred the young man. If he refused to attend church then it would be Saitou's responsibility to make sure that he didn't stray. Women could lead to so much trouble that without a strong sense of morals anyone could be lead astray, he knew from personal experience. "My boy, I just want to make sure you make the best decisions."

Kaoru stood and tipped her hat once more in courtesy. "Yes sir, I understand and appreciate your concern. If you don't mind, I need to find my brother to discuss some family matters."

"This conversation isn't over," Saitou informed the young cowhand as he made for the exit of his office. The youth paused at the door and turned to look at Saitou. There was something about those determined blue eyes that caused Saitou's blood to boil with excitement. Disgusted with his sudden irrational emotions Saitou's face became hard as stone.

"Sou and I ran into Himura at the posts earlier. He mentioned something about a business conference."

"What about it?" Saitou demanded, feeling the need to get back to his paper work and focus on something familiar and tedious.

"He passed along a message for a Miss Kaoru, apparently Mr. Shinomori intends to invite her to some black tie affair." Kaoru watched with amusement as anger flushed Saitou's face clear of his tan before the blood came back to make his skin darker. "I don't believe I've met a Miss Kaoru, is she your daughter, sir?"

Saitou stood on his feet in a flash. "No she is not my daughter! I'm not old enough to have a daughter like her and….you stay clear of that woman, you hear me?" Saitou's voice grew in volume before he took a deep breath and calmed himself. "Why don't you go and find your brother now," he suggested as he sat back into his chair heavily and busied himself with paperwork.

With the smirk of victory on her face, Kaoru left her boss/enemy's office. Looks like whatever suspicions he might have about Ru would be ignored in favor of brooding about Kaoru. The irony of using herself as a scapegoat did not go unnoticed.

_Edited 2/19/10_


	6. Chapter Six

(A/N:Gomen nasai, friends. The lateness of this chapter is due to many reasons. Most of them personal, but I do offer you all my deepest apologies. Especially to Belle. I'm sorry it took so long. I hope it was worth the wait. Yousha, Tsuki-san)

**Chapter Six **

The First Secret

Saitou glared at the gold embossed invitation for the hundredth time wondering just what was so important that the Cattle Ranchers Association was calling a state wide conference over. He knew that the water table was low because the rain was so scant this season. Maybe it had something to do with water shares and irrigation rights. Whatever it was, he was not looking forward to it. He detested the pomp and circumstance of black tie and tuxedo affairs. They were boring and ostentatious, and he had better things to do with his time than rub elbows with a bunch of self-centered, rich businessmen who didn't know the first thing about real ranching. There was just one problem. Aoshi Shinomori and Kaoru Kamiya. The very idea of the Ice Man taking the blue-eyed vixen as his guest sent Saitou's blood to boiling.

"Arrogant son-of-a... Who the hell does he think he is, trying to date my foreman's sister? Does he really believe I am going to stand for that when I know all he's doing is trying to pump her for information while trying to get on my land for a look-see around the place? He must be stupider than I ever gave him credit for." He snorted and flipped the invitation onto his desk while reaching for his cigarettes. Lighting one up, he took a deep drag and leaned back in his chair propping his feet up. "Well, we'll just see about that, won't we? If you think I'm going to let you waltz around with that mouthy brat on your arm without a chaperone, you've got another thing coming because there is no way I'm leaving you two to your own devices. Absolutely no way."

A nasty, self-satisfied smile crossed the rancher's face as he took another pull on his cigarette. He felt quite pleased with himself at the moment thinking he had everything worked out in order to thwart his rival's obvious intentions. Oddly enough, it never occurred to him that what he was feeling had nothing to do with suspicion and everything to do with jealousy. Of course, that was not something he was going to be willing to admit for a very long time.

As he finished his cigarette, Saitou stubbed the butt out in the ashtray and rose to his feet. It was well after nine o'clock and he was due up at five A.M. It was time to hit the sack and check out the insides of his eyelids. He leaned over and turned off the lamp that sat on the corner of his desk and then walked across the room and out the door. The hallway was only partially lit by a single, dim ceiling light but he could still clearly see his way to the stairs. As he mounted them, he thought he heard the muffled sound of voices coming from one of the rooms and he quickened his step to reach the top.

There was light peaking out from under Kamatari's door, whereas Kaoru's was dark. Saitou frowned and walked over to his cook's room and pressed an ear to the wood straining to hear even the smallest of sounds. What greeted him was not what he expected.

"...of course I understand, but don't you think it is a bit dangerous for you to act like this?" Kamatari's voice was riddled with concern and Saitou leaned harder against the door.

"No, I think I'll be just fine. So far no one really suspects a thing except Mr. Shinomori's foreman, and I don't think he will say anything." His eyes widened in alarm. That was Kaoru's voice. What the hell was going on? What was dangerous? What were they talking about? What wouldn't anyone suspect?

"That yummy man? Oh no, I think you are quite right. I'm sure he will keep whatever he knows to himself."

"A llright then, you see? Everything is going to be fine, so stop worrying over me like a mother hen. I can take care of myself."

"I hope you're right. You're playing with fire, you know that, don't you? I don't want to see you get burned, sweetie, and this whole thing could blow up in your face."

"It isn't going to. Jeez, will you have a little faith in me, for heaven's sake? I'm not a complete idiot. No one is going to find out."

"I hope you're right, honey. I don't know who would be more upset? Mr. Shinomori or the Boss. It would really be a toss up." Saitou pulled back and scowled angrily. What the hell was that little wild cat up to now? It sure sounded like she was planning some kind of a double cross on some poor unsuspecting soul. Well, he would make damn certain it wasn't him. If she want to screw Shinomori, she was welcome to it, but if she tried anything with him, she best be prepared for the fight of a lifetime. He wasn't about to let her get away with anything.

He turned and walked the rest of the way to his room, his mind mulling over what he heard of the conversation between his cook and that troublesome girl. Why on earth would Kamatari betray him? They had been working together for years. Since before.... since before 'her'. Saitou shook his head in disbelief wondering how that evil child had swayed his most loyal employee over to her side in such a short period of time. What was she planning? He knew that she and her brother were in debt up to their eyeballs since the passing of their father, and now he had to wonder if she wasn't trying to plan something that would relieve either himself or Shinomori of a chunk of cash without their knowing. Glacial amber eyes narrowed dangerously as he considered the possibility that she might be trying to scam him or his wealthy neighbor.

"I'll have your lovely hide tacked up on the side of my barn before I let you do anything like that to either one of us, you little hell-cat. So you better mind your manners and keep your pointy little nose out of our business and our bank accounts... if you know what's good for you."

On the other side of Kamatari's door, he and Kaoru sat lotus style on his bed facing each other. Kaoru was holding a long, wide box in her lap and systematically breaking each piece of tape that held it shut. Kamatari, on the other hand, was biting his fingernails in apt anticipation waiting to see the look on her face.

"Will you hurry, please, the wait is driving me crazy."

"Hang on, I'm almost done. If you hadn't put so much tape on the box, I would have been finished a long time ago, Tari. Jeez, what did you think? It was going to spontaneously bounce open all by itself before you gave it to me?" The man across from her smiled attractively, his effeminate face glowing with excitement as he blushed. "You just wanted to watch and see how long it took me to get into the damn thing."

"That's half the fun, honey. The rest is seeing the look on your face when you get a peak at what's inside."

"What did you do this time, Tari?"

"Hurry up and open the box, Kaoru, and you'll find out."

Kaoru smiled and continued to break tape along the edge of the box, Ru's pocketknife would have been convenient right about now. As she popped the last piece, she shook the box, jiggling the top off and letting the bottom drop into her lap. White tissue paper was folded over covering whatever was inside forcing her to go digging into the raspy material to discover what was underneath. A loud gasp filled the room as her fingers slipped over smooth black satin. "Oh Tari, what did you do?" she whispered as her hands grasped the beautiful fabric and lifted the article free of the box and the tissue paper packing.

"I figured you probably didn't have anything that was quite suitable for the Conference, so... I thought I would be your Fairy God Mother and help send you off to The Ball in style. Do you like it?" His large eyes sparkled and danced as he waited for the young woman to reply. Buying and giving presents were one of the things he loved to do the most, and watching the people he gave them to was another.

As Kaoru lifted the dress out of the box, her breath hitched and caught in her throat. It was beautiful in its simplicity. A play on traditional Japanese lines, it had a high neck and frogs of silk braid closing the bodice to the waist. The skirt was form fitting and fell to her knees, an attractive slit was cut up either side to mid-thigh allowing her freedom of movement and the ability to sit as well as exposing a good measure of leg. It was sleeveless and covered with a shining dragon print embedded into the fabric itself. Kaoru could not remember the last she saw any thing so elegant, and her heart swelled with emotion at the enormity of such a wonderful gift.

"Oh Tari," she said, her voice cracking. "I can't believe you did this."

"Then you like it, yes?"

"Yes, I like it. Who wouldn't? It's gorgeous. I've never seen anything so beautiful."

"There are shoes and hose to go with it too, sweetie." Kamatari reached out and dug into the box and pulled out a package of sheer, black nylons and a pair of 4 inch black pumps. "I'm fairly certain I got your size right. I looked at some of your other shoes before I went shopping, but you better try everything on just to be sure."

"Okay, hang on and I'll be right back." Kaoru bounded off the bed and disappeared inside Kamatari's dressing room. It only took her a few minutes to peal off her pajamas and robe and slip into the nylons, dress, and shoes. The only thing she seemed to be missing that would have made any significant difference to her appearance was a bra, but she didn't think it mattered that much at the moment. A long sigh of pure feminine pleasure issued from her lips as she basked in the sensuous feeling of the expensive satin against her skin. It was a sensation that was completely new to her, and definitely something she could get used to.

"Are you finished in there?" Kamatari's voice drifted through the closed door and rattled her back to the real world reminding her just exactly what she was doing and why.

"Coming," she called and brushed nervous hands over her hips. Stepping into the shoes, she felt the narrow tips pinch her toes though not painfully, and then opened the door to walk out. Shyness overcame her at the last moment and her eyes lowered unable to meet the gaze of her friend. "What do you think?" she asked in a small, uncertain voice. "Do I look all right or am I a complete goof? I've hardly ever worn a dress before, and I've never worn anything like this. I feel really strange in it and I can barely keep my balance in these pumps."

"Well, honey, let me tell you what." Kamatari got off his bed and walked over to stand in front of the nervous young woman. "I can honestly and truthfully say you are the prettiest thing I have ever seen, Kaoru. The dress was beautiful on the mannequin, but you breathe life into it, girly. You'll set all those rich, fat ranchers right on their ass."

"Tari!" Kaoru exclaimed as her blush deepened and she stared at the smiling man.

"What?" He laughed and hugged her loosely. "You are beautiful, Kaoru. It's about time someone told you."

She looked down at the dress once more and ran her fingers lovingly over the smooth material. It did look beautiful, but she knew she wouldn't be able to step foot in a room full of men wearing something so revealing. "It's beautiful, but I'm going to need a shaw or something or else I won't be able to go anywhere public like this."

Kamatari rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. "I had noticed the trend of loose clothing that you tend to favor. Have no fear, I've something that will serve your purposes well. But for now, let us just bask in your vision like this."

**OoO**

Saturday rolled around quickly, but not before Saitou informed Kaoru that he would be keeping a close eye on her and the Ice Man. That he didn't like either of them was clear, and that he didn't trust her, was becoming painfully obvious, although for the life of her, she couldn't figure out why.

"Did I do something to him in a past life or something, Sou? Why does he treat me the way he does?" She nudged her horse closer to the cow and calf they were trying to cut from the herd and maneuvered the large animal between them and the other cattle. "You'd think I was a foreign spy or the Devil's daughter the way he acts around me. Kamatari says there is some sort of big secret in his past, but he won't tell me what it is. Do you know?"

Soujiro spurred his mount and they surged forward to cut off the cow's escape around Kaoru's flank and threw a lasso around her neck, and then the two of them herded her and the lowing calf a safe distance away from the rest of the cattle. "Well, you know I've been with Mr. Saitou for a long time. Almost seven years, but what you're talking about happened before I got here. The other boys talk about the 'incident' from time to time, but I have never gotten any real details. The only thing I know is that it has to do with his ex-wife."

"I still can't believe that man was married."

"Not for very long, if I am to believe what I've heard." Soujiro swung down off his horse and Kaoru followed suit. "Something really bad happened between them and he had the marriage annulled almost before it even got started." Out of habit, he secured the lasso attached to the cow tightly around the pommel of his saddle. She wasn't going anywhere. It was the calf they were after anyway and this would keep the mother from getting in the way.

"It must really piss him off that it's her room I'm sleeping in. Hmmm, Tari never said much about the 'Wife'."

"Just goes to show you how loyal that man is to The Boss. He'll even keep his secrets for him. Which brings me to my next question, are you so sure it was such a good idea to let him in on the 'Kaoru-Ru' issue? Do you really think you can trust him? Him of all people?"

"Yes, I can trust him." Kaoru shot Soujiro a sharp look as they approached the cow and calf. "He knows what a beast that man is to me all the time. He seemed more worried what would happen if I was discovered."

"Hmmm, that is a good sign at least, I guess. Maybe he won't rat you out after all. Are you ready to do this?" He cast a wary look into her stern face and she nodded. "You got the syringe?"

"Yup." She held it up between her fingers like a new, fashionable cigarette. "Ready to rock and roll."

Soujiro grinned. "Only you would say that." He laughed and slipped another lasso over the calf's head. "Go for it and let us call it a morning. You need to get back and wash 'Ru' off and get 'Kaoru' all dolled up before Mr. Himura shows up to take her to the Conference."

"Oh damn!" Kaoru exchanged wry looks with Ru's brother. "I forgot that was today. He'll be here at four-thirty. He said it's a two-hour drive to wherever this thing is being held and it starts around seven. We're supposed to be there early to mix and mingle. Ugh!"

Laughing, Soujiro flipped the calf over on its side and hobbled its legs. "Don't worry so much and I find it hard to believe that you could have possibly forgotten it was today. You'll be fine. Besides, Mr. Shinomori will be the one doing all the talking. All you have to do is stand there, smile, and look beautiful."

"What is it with you guys and calling me 'beautiful'?" Her voice was slightly slurred as she bit down on the cap of the syringe and pulled the needle free so she could administer the injection to the captive calf. "I am not beautiful!"

"Uh-huh, whatever you say, sis." Soujiro caught Kaoru's glare across the struggling animal and burst into laughter. "All right, that's the last one. Get clear, I'm letting him go." As soon as the calf was free, he ran bawling to his mother and started butting her udders for some comfort milk.

"Humph, just like a man." Kaoru snorted. "Don't have any use for a woman until the chips are down, and then look out. He makes a bee-line right for the soft stuff." Soujiro just laughed louder. They packed away their supplies, mounted up, and rode back to the ranch. Twenty-three calves were immunized against heart worm that morning. All in all, it was a full morning.

**OoO**

The doorbell rang precisely at four-thirty and Kamatari almost skipped down the hallway to answer it. He felt more like Kaoru's big brother sending her off on Prom Night than he did her friend, and he was enjoying every single minute of it. This little experience with her had finally convinced him he needed to get married and have children of his own. Little girls were just too much fun to miss out on having one or two of his own. And the possibilities a wife represented were deliciously endless.

"Good-evening, Mr. Himura. Won't you come in. Kaoru is nearly ready. I'm sure she will only be a few more minutes."

"Thank-you, Kamatari. How are you? It has been quite some time since the last time I saw you. You look well." Kenshin stepped into the foyer and waited patiently while the other man closed the door behind him.

"Oh I'm fine. You know me, I never get sick and I just love my job. How about you? How goes life over at Shinomori's?"

"Very well, thank-you." The handsome redhead smiled engagingly at the odd, slender man dancing around in front of him. If he didn't know for a certainty that Kamatari was not gay, it would be difficult to convince him otherwise. The man was positively girlish. The subject of his sexual preferences was more often than not the subject of spicy, off-color conversation among the cowboys on his boss's ranch, and many were the time when Kenshin had to put an end to the rumors that were started. There were even rumors that Saitou and Kamatari were...

"Did you ever find out what it was that was plaguing your cattle's ears and get rid of it?"

"Wha... Oh, yes we did finally. It actually turned out to something so simple we all felt foolish."

"Really? What was that?"

"Ear mites."

"From the dust?"

"Indeed. A whole epidemic. It seems the mud and dirt around the pond at the end of the property... you know, the piece next to your boss's... its infested with them. It's going to have to be treated in order to get rid of them before it spreads again. Quite a nasty business, that it was."

"Did I hear you say, ear mites?" Both men turned toward the sound of a new voice and came face to face with a vision that stole their breath away and robbed them of the ability to speak. Kaoru had come down the stairs in the middle of their conversation and was now standing only a few feet away listening intently. The black satin dress clung to every curve of her lithe, sinuous body like a shimmering glove. The glossy mass of her obsidian hair was hanging loose over her shoulders and down her back past her waist like a curtain of silk. The flawless porcelain of her skin was a stark contrast to the material, and the light make-up she wore only proved to further enhance the deep blue of her eyes, the ink black of her eyelashes, and the natural rose red of her lips.

"I... ah... Good-evening, Miss Kaoru." Kenshin finally found his voice and managed to stutter over a suitable greeting to the angelic looking young woman. "May I say that you look lovely this evening." He approached her with a disarming smile and reached out for her hand which he brought to his lips and tenderly kissed. "Mr. Shinomori is a lucky man. That he is."

"Um... I... ah... I... Thank-y-you, Mr. Himura." Kaoru was stammering and she knew it, but she couldn't help it. The redhead was gorgeous in his plain black slacks, black shirt, bow tie, and coat. All black suited him well, and he had left his hair free to flow over his shoulder like a cloud of red mist. How on earth she managed to land herself in the middle of so many attractive men she didn't know, but she wasn't at all certain that she liked it. Her heart was having a difficult time adjusting and dealing with the stress they were putting on her. "Y-you look very nice too."

"Thank-you." He replied, his violet eyes twinkling. "Do you have a wrap? It may get cold later and I don't want you to be uncomfortable."

"Yes, she does. Just a minute." Kamatari disappeared up the stairs in a flash. "I'll be right back."

"God," Kaoru sighed and rolled her eyes. "I wonder what he did now."

"What do you mean?" Kenshin laughed and released her hand only to stuff both of his into the pockets of his pants.

"He bought me this dress, the hose, and the shoes because he didn't think I had anything to wear to a fancy dinner like this."

"Did you?"

"No."

"Well, he has exceptionally good taste, if I may say so myself." Those enigmatic violet eyes twinkled and danced more when he saw the lovely girl in front of him blush deeply. "So, what do you think he's doing now?"

"He must have..." Before she could finish Kamatari was bouncing down the stairs with something white and furry looking in his hands.

"This should work just fine, don't' you think, Kaoru? Mr. Himura?" The beaming man handed the faux fur jacket to Kenshin who took it with a grin and held it up for inspection.

"Yes, I think it will do just fine. Miss Kaoru?" Kaoru was standing frozen, staring at the jacket as if it were made of pure platinum. "Miss Kaoru?" Kenshin leaned over toward her. "Do you like the jacket? Kamatari might burst something important if you don't say anything."

"I–I like it. It's... It's beautiful, Tari. Where did you get it?" Kaoru let Kenshin help her on with the soft, silk-lined jacket, and as she shrugged it over her shoulders, she turned her cheek to rub it against the luxurious fur.

"Oh, its just something that's been hanging around in my closet for a while." Kamatari grinned. "It looks good on you."

"Your closet? Kamatari?" Kenshin gave the other man a long sideways look.

"I didn't mean it was for me," Kamatari blushed furiously and waved his hands in the air. "I bought it as a gift for someone years ago, but never gave it away. Now I'm glad I didn't. It was meant to be worn by you, Kaoru."

"Funny, that is exactly the same thing you said when you offered it to the first person you tried to give it to, Kamatari." Kamatari froze, the smile on his face faltering and turning into something that looked more like a painful grimace. The rich, baritone voice of his employer vibrated inside his skull like a death tole and he suddenly felt quite sick to his stomach.

"I, ah... I'm afraid I don't recall, Mr. Saitou." He turned slowly to face the icy scowl that was bearing down upon him. "It has been such a long time ago... I guess I've forgotten."

"So it would seem," Saitou said as he moved out of the shadows and closer to the threesome. "I would seem you have forgotten many things in the last few weeks. I wonder why that is?"

"I am sure I don't know what you mean, Sir."

"Hmmm, of course you don't." Saitou's irritated gaze drifted from his stunned cook to the other pair standing in his foyer. "As for you Himura, you know how much I don't enjoy seeing you in my home, so collect the baggage you came for and leave. The sooner you get her away from me the better, but I should warn you, she is not what she seems to be."

"What is that supposed to mean, Saitou?" Kenshins eyes narrowed and took on a faint golden hue.

"Just be a good lad, and pass my warning on to your boss. Beware of wolves in sheep's clothing... or she'll steal him blind."

"Why you insulting son of a bi..." Kaoru surged forward with fists balled, but Kenshin pulled her back and headed for the door.

"I don't know where you're getting your information from, Saitou, but this girl wouldn't hurt a fly."

"Maybe not a fly, but a few men isn't beneath her. Trust me."

"Don't you think it's time you let go of the past, Saitou?" Kenshin's voice was low and harsh as his furious golden eyes met icy amber crystals. "It's been over ten years since all of that happened. Isn't it time to let go of the past and let it be buried where it belongs? In the past?"

"That's easy for you to say, Himura. She wasn't your wife." Saitou snarled ominously into the shorter man's face.

"No, she was my sister."

(A/N:HOHOHOHOHO! Chew on that for awhile. Twists and turns. I love them. Kanzen ne Tsuki)

_Edited: 2/20/10_


	7. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

Uncomfortable would have been too light of a word used to describe the atmosphere at Saitou's ranch after Kenshin's proclamation. Kaoru could think of nothing better to do than to grab hold of Kenshin's elbow and drag him outside towards his vehicle. She had taken off the white fur coat and left it on the front porch, not wanting to be associated with Saitou's former wife in any way or fashion. She'd rather bare her shoulders and deal with the discomfort of wearing such a tight, revealing dress because Kamatari was right and she did look very attractive in it.

"I am sorry, Miss Kaoru, that I am," Kenshin apologized as he held open the door for Kaoru. His normal smile was absent from his suddenly somber expression. Kaoru merely smiled reassuringly at him but didn't say anything.

After the Star S Ranch was in the distance, Kenshin spoke again while giving her a sideways look. "Miss Kaoru you do look lovely, but…" he trailed off, unsure of how to finish.

Kaoru bit her lip nervously as she watched him in anticipation for the end of his comment. "But?" she prodded.

"However, Mr. Shinomori has a dress for you that may be more fitting for the occasion," he finished, while casting her a bright smile that seemed to melt the troubles away from her heart.

"Oh, but Kamatari went to a lot of trouble for me," Kaoru replied while looking out the passenger window at the passing scenery.

"Yes, and it's lovely but it's not exactly the kind of dress one wears to a Cattlemen's Ball." Kenshin reached over and patted her arm. "I'll bet Mr. Shinomori will take you out to eat somewhere in the near future so that you may put that beautiful dress to good use."

Kaoru nodded, but once again didn't say anything. She knew it was out of character for her to be so quiet, but the reminder that Saitou had once been a party to a troubled marriage tugged at her heart strings. It wasn't fair that she was being punished for whatever Kenshin's sister did to the man.

"I'm surprised I didn't see Sanosuke standing on the front porch with shotgun."

"Oh, he's in town. One of the horses became sick and he and Soujiro brought it to the Vet."

Kenshin cleared his throat. "Speaking of Soujiro, how is the roundup going?" He winked an amethyst eye at her. "Are you and Sou busy roping those little doggies?"

"You're not going to tell anyone are you?" Kaoru asked with a panicked edge to her voice.

Her question was met with a soft, throaty laugh that lifted her spirits. "Your secret is safe with me, but I want you to understand that you are playing with fire when you deceive Saitou." Kenshin concentrated on the road, collecting his thoughts before continuing. "My sister, she hurt him real bad. I haven't talked to her since the incident. I actually can't say that I blame Saitou for holding a grudge against her."

"If you don't learn to forgive then you'll be miserable," Kaoru wisely pointed out.

"True enough, but sometimes it's hard to do just that." Kenshin pulled over on the side of the road at what appeared to be an airplane hanger. "We're here," he announced. He stepped outside of the car and then opened the door for Kaoru, grasping her hand to lift her out.

"I realize that I've never been to one of these things before, but I pictured the ball to have more of a classy feel than an airplane hanger," Kaoru commented dryly. Her statement earned another laugh from the red haired gentleman.

"You are correct, that you are," Kenshin agreed as he escorted the young woman towards a small personal jet. "This is Mr. Shinomori's Cessna and he will be your pilot this evening."

Out of the shadows of the small plane stepped a familiar tall figure. Aoshi made his way towards Kaoru, one arm behind his back. He looked her up and down with a slight frown between his brows but a soft smile upon his lips. He reached for her hand and kissed the back of her knuckles in a feathery kiss. "You look lovely, but I hope that you would wear this." He pulled the package from behind his back and handed it to Kaoru, but Kenshin intercepted it.

Kenshin took out his pocketknife and sliced off the ribbons holding the top of the box in place before handing the parcel back to Kaoru. She felt a little overwhelmed by the presence of Aoshi. Kenshin was handsome but Aoshi was devastating in both looks and charisma.

A gasp of delight stole past Kaoru's lips as she lifted the dark violet dress from the package. The material was soft and silky and a beautiful silver snowflake like star was embroidered on the bodice giving the dress a magical effect. It was a bit more modest than the one from Kamatari. She looked up to see Aoshi smiling down upon her, a look of soft possession in his eyes.

He then dangled a pair of what looked like glass slippers with intricate straps and quite a bit of a heel so she'd still have to work hard to maintain her balance. "I figured all women liked the story of Cinderella so why not let you live out the fantasy tonight, with me?" Aoshi's suggestion caused moisture to gather behind Kaoru's eyes at his thoughtfulness. He bent towards her ear. "They aren't real glass, but we can pretend."

"There is a restroom in the hanger for you to change in, Miss Kaoru," Kenshin suggested. He once again took her by the elbow and led her away from Aoshi.

For a restroom in an airplane hanger it was rather spacious and clean. There was the obligatory sink and toilet, but along the wall was also a lovely bench. Kaoru shut the door behind her and placed the dress gently on the bench and carefully began to remove the dress from Kamatari to replace it with the one from Aoshi. Luckily, they were both dark colors so her make-up still complimented the look.

The clear shoes were similar in style to the black pumps and she was very glad that Kamatari had insisted she paint her nails. Thankfully, she'd gone with the deep maroon color that went well with most dark colors. She looked in the mirror and was comforted that at least the jewelry was her own. The earrings were a pair of diamond dangles her father had gotten her for her sixteenth birthday and the black pearls around her throat were a gift from Sano three years ago. Moments later, she emerged from the changing room looking stunning in her new outfit feeling like a princess.

Aoshi cleared his throat when Kaoru approached him. He glanced down at his own outfit and was pleased to see that they matched, because the trim to his penguin suit was the same bluish-purple of Kaoru's gown. "Kenshin told me that Kamatari provided you with the lovely Japanese styled gown. I'll take you to an Asian restaurant so that you can wear it sometime soon," he promised.

"Okay," Kaoru agreed somewhat breathless. "So how exactly are we getting to this Cattleman's Ball?" She cast a wary glance towards the private plane.

"I'll be flying us there of course. It would be difficult to get to Houston on such short notice without flying," Aoshi informed her. He gave Kenshin a questioning look but was met with a shrug. "So you aren't going?" he asked quietly of his old friend.

"I don't really feel up to it," Kenshin replied.

Kaoru whirled around to face the red haired man. "Why aren't you coming? You're dressed and everything!"

"This one does not care to mingle this evening." Kenshin gave her a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "You two have enough fun for me though."

"If that's what you wish, try to take it easy tonight, Himura," Aoshi advised before escorting Kaoru up into his private plane. Two minutes later the couple was airborne with Aoshi comfortable in cockpit. "So, how are things going for you over at Saitou's? Is he still giving you grief?"

Kaoru shrugged. "Some, but he's a miserable man and I pity him."

Aoshi spared her a brief look. "The only reason he is miserable is his own stubbornness," he bit off with a trace of hostility. He laughed ruefully. "That old man thinks that I'm out to get him."

"Aren't you?" Kaoru asked innocently, fixing her attention on the handsome man piloting beside her. Aoshi quirked a brow at her before focusing his gaze on the various controls he was handling.

"Of course I'm not. It would be foolish of me to put the man out of business. Between the two of our ranches, we're the only thing that's keeping this town out of poverty. I'm not selfish enough to wish ill upon so many people."

"But what about that stream?"

"You mean Widow Lydmyer's land? The river bottom land I've been trying to swindle for years so that I can cut off Hajime's water supply?" Aoshi clarified with a mischievous twinkle in his blue eyes. Kaoru could only nod.

"That man is paranoid. Little does he know that I already own that land. I made an agreement with the widow three years ago. I wouldn't condemn that man's animals to such a dire fate. As I said, our two ranches are keeping the town out of the red."

"I see," Kaoru muttered, not really understanding. "So why don't you just tell Saitou all this. He hates you an awful lot for no reason it seems."

"Yeah, well, he hates you too and you didn't do anything to him," Aoshi replied quietly. Kaoru chewed on that last statement for the rest of the flight. Not another word was spoken other than Aoshi explaining some of the mechanisms on how the plane worked.

After landing and settling into a waiting limo to drive them to the event Kaoru asked the question that was plaguing her. "How is Saitou going to get here?"

"He'll fly, I'm sure," Aoshi answered while he was punching some numbers onto his palm pilot and checking his stock investments. He leaned back in his leather seat and smirked at Kaoru. "In case you forgot on the flight over here, you look gorgeous."

A blush stained Kaoru's cheeks under the praise but she managed to find her voice after some thorough searching. "Thank you, you're not so bad yourself."

**OoO**

The Cattlemen's Ball was overwhelming in ways, but Kaoru found herself not feeling completely out of place. With Aoshi standing reassuringly at her side she felt comfortable and was having a good time. At least she was until she noticed a familiar figure standing in the corner of the room, holding a burning cigar in his hand.

Aoshi seemed to follow her gaze. "Looks like Mr. Saitou decided to come after all." He placed his hand upon the small of Kaoru's back and led her to the dance floor. "Don't worry about him, let's you and I have some fun."

Encased in the warm comfort of Aoshi's strong arms, Kaoru forgot the rest of the world existed. With a dreamy expression on her face she leaned her cheek against Aoshi's chest and listened to the strong, steady beat of his heart. They moved together in a sensual rhythm that was the envy of those watching from afar, at least all but one person from afar.

From his position across the room Saitou threw down his cigar and crushed it under his foot. His smoking was the only thing that was protecting him from the women that had flocked to his side earlier. He was single, rich, and eligible… make that very rich. The gold diggers that had swamped him only reaffirmed his poor opinion about women in general.

His attention was focused on a particular dancing couple. He was about to pull that hell-cat away from Shinomori forcibly but was stopped by various associates who appeared at his side after he finished his cigar. He didn't want to discuss what kind of seed he was planting that could survive the latest infection. He didn't want to discuss his new bull.

"Is anything the matter Saitou? You seem a bit pre-occupied," a man by the name of Enishi commented as his turquoise colored eyes followed Saitou's amber gaze.

"Everything is fine," Saitou assured him, giving the man a dead panned expression. "You were asking about the stock of maize I have been growing?"

"I was, but I think I'm more interested in why Shinomori and his date have your attention," Enishi answered, once more followed the dancing couple with his gaze. He adjusted the wire-rim glasses perched on his nose. "And I can certainly see why."

Saitou's left eye began to twitch in annoyance as he watched Kaoru and Aoshi dancing. Aoshi was smiling, a rare sight, and Kaoru was laughing. The sound of her laughter was lovely, and he felt a sense of loss at having never been on the receiving end of her laugh and only being privilege to her angry retorts.

At the end of the song, Shinomori and Kamiya left the dance floor and headed towards the refreshment table. Saitou watched as the businessmen that had been plaguing him now flocked to Shinomori. At least they were off his back, but he didn't relish the glory for he noticed that Enishi had approached Kaoru.

She cast a questioning glance towards Aoshi but he waved her off casually with permission. With something akin to rage, Saitou watched as she was whisked towards the dance floor by Enishi. He had to admit that her dress was beautiful, but he was annoyed that she should not use the gift that Tari had gone through so much trouble for her. Was it not good enough for her?

He did notice with some satisfaction that the white fur coat was not in attendance with her. Seeing that coat had been too great a reminder of his betrayal. He knew that he was being unfair to take out his hostility on Sanosuke's sister, but she just rubbed him the wrong way. Sparks flew between them and he couldn't deny the attraction, but it only served to make him angrier.

He would not be taken in by another scheming woman; especially when that woman had his most loyal staff supporting her over him and was associating with his rival. With a sense of justice he marched across the dance floor, ignoring the questioning glances being sent his way.

He tapped Enishi on the shoulder. "I'm cutting in," he announced. It wasn't a request. Kaoru stood stunned before him as he placed his large hand around her waist and drew her close, his other hand held hers and entwined their fingers while she rested the palm of her free hand upon his shoulder. With his height advantage it proved an awkward position so she slid it down to rest more comfortably on his upper his chest.

Kaoru couldn't help but notice how hard and chiseled the muscles under his dress shirt felt under her palm.

"Nice dress," Saitou commented with a hint of gruff hostility as he pulled her body close to his. He pressed her soft curves into the hard planes of his body and was surprised to notice how perfectly they fit together. For a few precious moments he allowed himself to be lost in the feel of her body against his and forgot all of the reasons as to why he was supposed to hate her, and everything she represented.

Kaoru took a deep, calming breath and he saw her swallow thickly before answering. "Thank you," she replied softly. She looked up into his eyes with confusion evident on her face before dropping her gaze to eye-level and focusing on his chest. "Why are you dancing with me?'

Saitou watched the base of her throat, noting that her pulse was racing. "It is expected that people dance at these functions," he assured her. "Or do you belong to Shinomori so much that you can't spare me a dance?" he asked with a flash of some unnamed emotion in his eyes.

"That makes no sense. I was just dancing with Mr. Yukishiro and I don't belong to Aoshi." Kaoru dared a look into the cold amber eyes that were boring into hers.

Saitou's hand contracted almost painfully at her waist as he felt his hormones acting against his will. "No, I suppose you don't," he murmured. The music ended and abruptly Saitou released her from his hold. He took a step back and then turned without another word.

Confused by his attitude, Kaoru watched him silently before returning to Aoshi's side. The tall rancher placed his arm comfortingly around her shoulders and pressed a soft kiss to her temple. "Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Yes, thank you so much for inviting me," Kaoru answered honestly. For the most part she was having a good time at the affair. It was the first time since the incident that she'd allowed herself to treated like a woman--dolled up with pretty jewelry, fancy dress, high-heels, and make up on the arm of a handsome man. It had only been a little unnerving for those few moments with Saitou.

"I have to go out back and talk business; will you be okay here by yourself?" Aoshi questioned his date. Kaoru gave a small nod and Aoshi squeezed her shoulder before following four other businessmen outside of the main party area.

Kaoru watched him leave with a heavy heart. Idly she began to pour herself some of the punch and drink heavily. It tasted funny, but she wasn't particularly picky. She was on her fourth cup of the stuff before she knew she wasn't alone.

"I see your guard already abandoned you," Saitou commented taking the cup out of Kaoru's hands. "How much did you drink?"

"I dunno, maybe four?" Kaoru asked with a lopsided smile. She raised her hand to her forehead and frowned slightly before shaking her head. "Tastes funny," she murmured.

"Fool, it's saturated with alcohol," Saitou hissed as he pulled her away from the table. "You don't drink, do you?"

"Drink? I'll have you know, sir, that I drink eight glasses of water a day, just like the doctor says you should." Kaoru glared at him feeling affronted and put her hands upon her hips as she stepped away from the tall man who was standing over her like an angry parent. Her expression went from defensive to giddy. "You should have something to drink too. The punch is great!"

Kaoru grabbed hold of Saitou's elbow and dragged him back towards the refreshment table and shoved a full glass into his hands. Because of his reservations about ever losing control of a situation, Saitou, who never drank, found himself pretending to sample his punch. "It's good, right?" Kaoru asked.

Saitou nodded, and set his cup aside and glared at the woman-child before him. To hell with being responsible! This woman was beautiful, and though she came to this gala with Shinomori, she belonged to him. She lived under his roof, damn it! They shared a bathroom for pete's sake, even if he'd purposely been using the spare bath down the hall to avoid her as much as possible. He pushed away from the refreshment table and pulled Kaoru back to a corner of the room.

She stared up at him with wide-eyed fascination. Her fingers lifted to his chin and traced the edge of his jaw where he already had a five o'clock shadow in spite of shaving three hours earlier. "You need to learn to smile," Kaoru told him softly.

"I think my face would crack if I tried that," Saitou answered with a trace of humor. Kaoru laughed at his comment, causing a faint smile to lift the corner of Saitou's lip.

"See, Hajime, you didn't break," Kaoru told him as her fingers left his jaw and inched towards the corner of his mouth. Saitou stopped her fingers and pulled them away to inspect them.

While staring at her short nailed fingers, curious about why her maroon colored nails were not long and sharp like most of the women he knew he broke the spell. He let her hand fall back to her side. "I'm not going to let you manipulate me, woman," he answered fiercely.

His hands moved to cup either side of her face. Slowly he inched his lips towards hers, Kaoru's eyes closed in anticipation, but Saitou wasn't aiming for her lips. His warm breath tickled her ear, and her eyes snapped open. "You came here as Shinomori's whore; don't think I'm going to let trash like you tempt me."

Karou's thoughts were muddled from the alcohol, but not muddled enough that she couldn't process the insult. Tears clouded her vision as she watched the man storm away from her. She growled in frustration and fought back the tears determined not to ruin her make-up. Saitou was a jerk and she would have steered clear of him, but he kept finding her!

Thankfully, Aoshi returned to her side at that moment. "What did he say?" Aoshi demanded softly as he pulled Kaoru to him and rested her cheek against his heart once more, like when they were dancing.

"I'd rather not talk about it. Can we go home, please?" Kaoru asked quietly.

"I'll take you home," Aoshi agreed. He kept his arm around her shoulders and her face pressed against his chest as he muttered apologies to various other cattlemen and their dates about his having to leave early.

"I know Saitou said something that upset you," Aoshi remarked once they had taken off in his plane. "I have several guest rooms at my ranch house if you'd like to stay the night."

"I don't know that that's a good idea," Kaoru answered slowly.

Aoshi looked over at her. "I really like you, Kaoru, and I care about you. I don't want to see you get hurt and that seems to be the only thing that Saitou does to you. You don't deserve to serve as his punching bag."

Kaoru gasped. "He doesn't hit me!"

"Not physically, but you don't seem much like a crier to me and that's what he's been making you do," Aoshi pointed out. He looked back over at her and reached for a lock of her dark hair to tuck it behind her ear. "Besides, he already hates me so what's one more knock against me going to hurt?"

"But he'll think that you and I slept together."

"Would that be so bad?" Aoshi looked over at her and gauged the impact of his words.

"Aoshi, we've just met," Kaoru answered thrilled by the idea of Aoshi being that attracted to her. She couldn't hold his gaze as she felt her face flush in nervousness. "And it's not just the grief that Saitou will give me, but there's also Sano. I don't want him to worry."

"I'll invite him over too then. Then you won't have to worry about your honor. Come on, Kaoru. I'll not be the one to rush you into something you're not ready for. Just give me the chance to get to know you."

"You know what, you're right. I shouldn't subject myself to that negative environment." She turned toward him and smiled. Her temple was starting to pound with the beginnings of a headache as the liquor's true natural reared it's ugly head. "And if Sano wasn't already in town at the Vet's with one of the horses I might have just taken you up on it."

_(A/N: Hehehe….how about THAT cliff-hanger?!?! Also, thanks to Cat Foxglove for editing and Charmed Reality for serving as my soundboard!)_

_Edited: 2/20/10_


	8. Chapter Eight

**Chapter Eight**

**Bad News Comes in Pairs**

"What the fuck are you doing here?" He blew a puff of smoke out into the chilled night air and then dropped the cigarette on the ground where he stomped it out with his boot. "Don't you know it's open season on Hell-cats?"

"Nice to see you too, Hajime," the dark-haired woman purred as she stood up and walked to edge of his porch. "You still packing a 'shooter', baby, or am I safe for the moment?"

"You're never safe where I'm concerned," he growled, mounting the steps and glaring at her smirking face. "What's the matter, Makato get tired of your shit and send you packing?"

"Something like that...except I was the one who got tired of his shit and left."

"Uh-huh. I'll just bet." He passed her and walked to the front door. "So you didn't answer my first question, what are you doing here?"

"I was in the neighborhood..."

"Bullshit! You're never just in the neighborhood, Tokio. What do you want?"

"You know, I'd forgotten what an asshole you were, Hajime," she spat and looked away. "I guess if you must know, I don't have anywhere else to go at the moment..."

"And you thought you'd come here? Are you fucking crazy?"

"Maybe, I just thought..."

"What about your brother? Did you call him?" Saitou moved away from the door and walked back to consider the woman standing on his porch. He hadn't seen her in almost ten years, but her looks hadn't changed a bit. She was still just as breathtaking as she'd been the first time he ever saw her. _'Damn her to hell!'_

"Yes, I tried to call him, but he still won't talk to me."

"Hmm, go figure that."

She shot him a furious look, her brown eyes flashing with wounded pride and female outrage. "Thanks for the sympathy." Her voice was hard and she was mentally satisfied to see him flinch ever so slightly. "He said it was too damn bad and I was just going to have to figure it out for myself."

"Sounds like Himura." Saitou chuckled despite himself. "I guess he is still mad at you, huh?"

"How'd you guess?"

"Can't say you blame him, can you? After all, you did pretty much fuck your whole family's reputation with the little stunt you pulled on me...not to mention nearly making it impossible for him to show his face in town."

"It didn't have anything to do with him..."

"He's your brother, isn't he?"

"Yes, but..."

"That's all it takes you stupid woman, or didn't you know that?"

"Shut-up, what do you know about it?" Tears showed in her eyes as she glared at him. "You never understood anything."

"I never understood!" He shouted and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Let me tell you what I understood, little girl." He growled into her shocked face. "I understood I was going to get married to the prettiest girl in the county...I understood I was the luckiest man in the world because she picked me over all the other guys around, and I was nobody then...I understood that two weeks after we got married, she disappeared without a word and left me worried sick that something horrible had happened to her...and I understood that a week later I got a fucking telegram from her telling me that she was pregnant with some other bastard's baby, and that bastard was one of my own men and that they were off in Oklahoma and she was filing for an annulment. That's what I understood, baby, so don't you ever tell me I never understood anything...NOT EVER!" Then he threw her away from himself and stormed back to the door. The flare of a match indicated he was lighting another cigarette. "If you really need a place to stay...you can stay here for a few days, but that's all. I don't want you around. You're nothing but trouble to me...and that's all you ever were."

"Gee, thanks..." Her voice was quiet and on the verge of breaking, but somehow she held it together. "I'll try to be out of your hair by the end of the week."

"Good, that's about all of you I think I could take." He walked inside and left her out on the dark porch alone. The soft sounds of her tears had nowhere to go but back out into the desert.

**OoO**

"I...um...I really think I should go home, Aoshi. I'm not quite comfortable staying with you and my head's hurting something awful. I just don't think it would be right. Besides, I'm afraid my brother might get the wrong idea too, and I don't want that."

"Hmm, I suppose it wouldn't do for me to get him upset with me, would it?"

"Not if you want to take me out again, it wouldn't." Kaoru tried to smile and soften the rejection she'd just given the tall, handsome man. As much as she liked him, she just couldn't bring herself to let things go any further than they already had. She didn't want him to think she was easy or something. Girls got into trouble when they were too complacent, and she and Sano already had enough trouble to last them three or four lifetimes without her adding to their problems. And the other problem was she didn't want to find herself depending on him. She was a big girl and could handle a little rejection of her own.

"All right," Aoshi smiled and squeezed her hands. "I'll take you back to the Star S, but I want you to remember there is always an empty room at my place if you ever need somewhere to go. Don't hesitate to call."

"Thanks, Aoshi. I'll remember that." Inside Kaoru was breathing a big sigh of relief. She was almost afraid he was going to be angry but knew she should have known better. Aoshi Shinomori was too much of a gentleman to get angry over something like this. Now Saitou on the other hand...that man was just plain insufferable. She was still feeling the sting of his painful words and couldn't for the life of her figure out why he'd said them. He'd been deliberately cruel and for no other reason than to cause her pain, of that she was certain.

She had also been just a little bit drunk and wondered if that had made her misconstrue his words, but as she went over the scene again and again in her mind, the words always came out the same. He'd called her 'Shinomori's whore' just as plain as day, but there was no reason behind the slur. He was just being mean, but she wasn't about to give him more ammunition.

There were only a few lights on in the large ranch house when Aoshi pulled up outside and Kaoru briefly wondered if she were going to be locked out. She nibbled the inside of her lip nervously as the tall man rounded the truck to open her door and help her out. Something was not quite right about the house. There was a strange feeling around it, but Kaoru couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Are you all right, Kaoru?" Aoshi gently tipped her chin up so he could look into her face. "You're awfully quiet."

"I'm okay. I guess I'm just tired and have this stupid headache. The alcohol and then plane ride and all, you know." It was a lame excuse and she knew it. She just hoped he would accept it and leave it at that.

"Um-hum...an hour either way does not really count for jet-lag, Kaoru, but I'll let you get away with it this time. It was sort of a tough party."

"Yes, it was that." Her brows knitted unconsciously as she thought about Saitou. She had not told Aoshi about what exactly had happened, nor the malicious words that had been fired at her. She didn't see the use of it. All it would do was add fuel to the fire between the two men and she didn't want to be the cause of further duress in the relationship. "I never have been big on pomp and circumstance, you know." Her smile was bland and Aoshi laughed.

"I'll try and remember that," he said. "Can I walk you to the door?"

"Um, better not. If Mr. Saitou sees you..."

"True, that wouldn't be a pretty picture, would it?"

"Not really considering he gave a very specific warning that you weren't allowed to set foot on his property."

"Then we'll have to say 'Good-night' here, Kaoru. Thank you for going with me. I enjoyed your company very much."

"Thank you for inviting me, Aoshi. And...and thank-you for the dress and the shoes and the excitement of a plane ride."

He smiled and leaned down to kiss her cheek. "You're most welcome," he whispered against her soft skin. "You look beautiful in them so I hope you'll keep them as my gift."

"Really?" Her blue eyes were wide and questioning as she looked up into his face. "I can keep them?"

"Of course." He laughed, and stroked his knuckles down her face. "I wouldn't have bought them if I didn't want you to keep them, Kaoru. Of course, they're yours. I don't go around confusing one woman for another and they were always meant for you."

"Wow," she said, and twirled around making the skirt billow around her. "I've never had anything this beautiful before, well aside from the gorgeous dress from Kamatari. Thank you, thank you so much."

"You're welcome." He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his trousers and watched her antics, the moonlight shining down on her hair making it look like shimmering obsidian. "You're a beautiful woman, Kaoru. I hope this isn't the last gift you let me give you."

Kaoru stopped spinning and gapped at the tall man. "I...ah...what?"

"You're beautiful," he repeated and walked over to her and cupped her face in his hands. "I'll call you soon," he said. "I promise." Then he kissed her forehead and turned back to his truck. "Good night, Kaoru." He called softly as he climbed in and started the engine.

"Good night, Aoshi." She called back and watched him drive away. _'Oh My God!' _She raised a hand to her burning face and closed her eyes. _'Is that not just the most romantic thing that has ever happened to me in my entire life? YES!'_

"Well, wasn't that sweet?" Acidic sarcasm oozed down off the porch and burned its way across the yard until it sizzled into Kaoru's love-struck mind. "It almost made me want to puke, it was so sweet...I thought I told you to keep Shinomori off my property, hell-cat."

'_Oh shit, please don't let this be true...not now...not after what happened...not after what he said.' "He had to bring me home..."_

"Let's get one thing straight, Princess...this isn't your home."

"Thank God." Kaoru's shoulders slumped and she turned to walk up the path to the front steps. "I wouldn't live here on purpose if it was the last place on earth."

"Really," Saitou took a drag on his cigarette and then flipped the butt out into the yard. "Then what are you doing here because, according to your brother, this is the last place on earth."

Kaoru stopped halfway to the door and turned to look at the man standing on the porch. Tears of emotional pain burned in her eyes and threatened to spill over, making her vision skew in the darkness and his image blurred. "Why?" she whispered, dropping her head and bringing a hand to cover her face. "Why do you say this kind of stuff to me all the time? I've never done anything to you. I don't even know you and you don't know me. We are perfect strangers, yet you treat me like we're old enemies...bad enemies." She raised a tear streaked face to him. "It isn't right for you to do this to me, and you know it. It's not fair for you to hate me just because I'm a girl."

Saitou managed to stay quiet through her tearful outburst, but the ending remarks hit a place a little bit too close to home, especially considering whom he let through his front door a little over an hour ago. He was not prepared for this particular confrontation and really couldn't think of anything to say in response. This woman's usual MO was to crawl all over him like a rabid she-demon, shredding his skin in the process. Why didn't she do that now? A surge of guilt surfaced as he recalled the cruel words he'd spoken to her when they'd danced earlier that evening. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out what had made him do that to her. They had been having a rather humorous conversation at the time, and she was just drunk enough to be pleasantly funny without being annoying. What made him say that horrible insult to her? Seeing the way Aoshi had tenderly parted from her he knew there was no truth to his crude accusation.

His guts squeezed tight and he lowered his gaze to look at the shadowy outline of the tips of his boots. "It's getting chilly out here," he said, avoiding her questions by changing the subject. "And you're going to freeze in that dress if we don't get inside. That is, unless you want to freeze?"

"No," Kaoru shook her head and wiped her face with the back of one hand. "We may as well go in. I think I'd just as soon go to bed anyway. Its been a long day and I'm tired and I think I'm about to suffer from a horrible hang-over."

"Sure," he replied in a low tone and opened the door for her. "It's late too."

Kaoru walked through the door and headed straight for the stairs. Hitching up the front of the long dress, she carefully started up, noticing that it was a little harder to climb in the high heels while one's balance was disturbed by a certain level of inebriation. As she wadded the material up in one hand, she grabbed the banister with the other and steadied herself. The visions of tumbling back down and breaking her neck just wasn't on her list of things to do tonight. All she wanted was to go to the bathroom and wash the paint off her face and then go to bed. It had been one of the more enjoyable and horrible nights in her life that she could remember. It was past time it was over. Way past time.

"Good-night, Kaoru." Saitou muttered under his breath. He watched her climb the stairs, waiting to see if she made it all the way without falling off those ridiculously high heels. When she disappeared down the hallway toward her room, he breathed a sigh of relief and then turned toward his office. He needed another cigarette and a stiff drink. Tokio was up there. He had purposefully not put her in her old room and given her no explanation when she asked why. Now, as he sat down behind his desk with a double shot of whisky, he wondered why he hadn't told her about Kaoru. Even he didn't know the answer to that question.

The whiskey burned going down, but it felt good.

**OoO**

Once inside the spacious bathroom, Kaoru decided to take a full shower instead of just washing her face. After the day and evening she just had, she felt like she deserved a little pampering. Now, standing beneath the steaming spray of water, she was glad she made the change of plans. The heat washed down her back, soothing the tense muscles and relaxing the strain she was feeling. A good shampooing of her long ebony hair left her feeling clean and renewed. The dull headache she had from the liquor and stress was quickly ebbing.

A fast toweling of her hair left it damp and tangled, but since her room right next door she didn't worry about trying to comb it. Normally, she'd go through the adjoining door between her room and the bath, but unfortunately, she'd forgotten to unlock from her bedroom side. No matter, she only had to go a couple of feet in the hallway. She picked up her scattered clothes, wrapped a heavy blue towel around her body, and skipped out into the hallway... and right into the face of a woman she didn't know.

"Ahhh... I ..."

"Well, well, well," Tokio sneered in a nasty voice as she looked Kaoru up and down with glittering hate-filled eyes. "Just who the hell are you? Hajime's new _housegirl_?"

"E-excuse me?" Kaoru stuttered and blinked in surprise at the malevolence in the woman's voice. "I don't think I know what you mean." Her brain started to work furiously as she tried to remember if they were supposed to be getting company. Was Tari expecting anyone? Was this one of Saitou's relatives? She certainly shared his hateful disposition.

"Oh please, don't give me that crap, little girl. I wasn't born yesterday. I know a prime piece of ass when I see one." She tossed her long chestnut colored hair over her shoulder with an angry hand. "So, do you pretend to help him with his books, or do you fiddle with Kamatari's spoons in the kitchen? Hmm?"

"I don't think I like what you're insinuating, Miss 'whoever you are,'" Kaoru snarled, finding her own temper. "My brother works for Mr. Saitou as his foreman. I don't do anything for him. I just live here."

"Oh ho! Well, isn't that convenient for everyone, especially Hajime." Tokio took a step closer to the small-framed dark-haired girl who stood about an inch taller, wanting nothing more than to wring her neck. "It doesn't matter what you do, you little whore. He's mine. He always was and he always will be... I just have to remind him, so you'll be out of here in no time."

"I don't know what you're talking about and I don't appreciate being called such a rotten word." Kaoru stared at the pretty woman in bewilderment. This must be one of Saitou's old girlfriends. Boy, did he know how to pick 'em. "If you want him so bad, you can have him. He hates me and I'm not so fond of him... so be my guest, but I'd appreciate it if you'd leave me alone." She turned away from the gaping woman and stomped down the hallway to her room and opened the door to go inside. That was when all hell broke loose.

"No! No! No!"

Suddenly Kaoru was yanked backwards by a length of her hair. The clothes in her arms went flying in every direction and she fell back on her butt with a painful 'Oof.' The towel she was wearing came precariously close to coming off and she scrambled to keep it closed and covering her more delicate secrets. Then she wiped the long damp strings of her hair out of her face and looked up to find a seething demon glaring into her face.

"You fucking bitch!" Tokio could feel the heat of her rage boiling in her face. Her pulse was pounding in her temples, and one of her migraines was threatening to explode. This little tramp was the reason Hajime had refused to put her in her old room. He had already put HER in it.

"Wh-what?" Kaoru scooted back across the floor away from the threat looming over her. "What's wrong with you?"

"How could he do this to me?" She started to cry and her dark brown eyes glazed over. It was just too fantastic to be real. It couldn't be real. "How could you do this to me, Hajime? How?"

"Tokio, what the hell are you doing?" Saitou rounded the corner at a dead run. When he heard the loud 'thump' through the ceiling, he had shot out of his office and raced for the second floor. He wasn't quite prepared for what he saw: Tokio, crying and ranting, and Kaoru on the floor with nothing on but a bath towel. It was fairly obvious what had happened. He just hoped the girl wasn't hurt.

"Kaoru," he knelt down beside her and touched her arm. A pair of frightened eyes turned to look at him, and his gut squeezed again. "Are you all right?"

"I...I guess so," she nodded. "Who is she? She yanked half my hair out."

"Uh, sorry about that," he said and slipped an arm around her waist, helping her to her feet. It was a concentrated effort to make sure the towel stayed in place, and he knew he had drank too much because the sight of her barely clad body was making him think about things he knew he shouldn't. Things he hadn't thought about in years. It was suddenly a little bit harder to breathe than it had been a few minutes before.

"I guess it's time for introductions." Saitou looked between the two women and frowned. He really didn't want to do this but it was inevitable. If anyone deserved the explanation, it was Kaoru, although why he felt that way he wasn't sure. "Kaoru," he began, only to be cut off by a whirlwind of light brown hair and pale blue pajamas.

"What's all this noise? A body can't sleep with so much noise. I swear, if a man wanted to be tortured, this would be the place to go." Kamatari burst from his room in a flurry of arms and hands. "All I ask is for a quiet night's sleep so I can do my job, and what do I get? A hallway full of loud voices, and banging... Oh my." He stopped suddenly as his eyes fell upon the three people and their various states of dress. "Oh my, my," he said again and approached the strange looking scene. "Just exactly what is going on here?" he asked.

"Hello, Kamatari."

The effeminate cook lurched at the sound of that husky voice and turned to face the owner. His jaw dropped and worked up and down several times as he tried to find his voice and something intelligent to say, but all that came out of his mouth were a few little squeaks and gargles. To his astonished eyes she had not changed one bit from the young woman barely past girlhood who came to the ranch and married his employer ten years earlier. Perhaps a little more mature and curvy, but otherwise she was just as beautiful and breathtaking as he remembered.

"Tokio..." he finally managed. "I... what are you doing here?"

"I left Shishio," she replied in a short voice. "It...it didn't work out."

"And you came back...here?" His incredulity was painfully evident and the dark-eyed woman flinched. "Don't you think that is a tad on the bad form side of things, dear?"

"I didn't have anywhere else to go. Kenshin still won't talk to me."

"I see." Kamatari turned to look at Saitou and Kaoru. His eyebrows went up when he saw how close together they were standing. The fact that his employer had his arm around the pretty girl's waist didn't get past him either. He found the entire scene more than interesting. Hajime Saitou rushing to the assistance of a girl he professed to hate? That was very interesting indeed, especially when he was protecting her from the wrath of his own ex-wife. "Have you introduced these two yet?"

"I was just getting around to it when you came blasting out of your room."

"Ah," Tari nodded his head. "Would you like me to do the honors? I know how you hate pomp."

"Please, be my guest." Saitou felt Kaoru stiffen in his arms. She wasn't going to like this and for some reason, he felt bad about that. It was also a testament to her shock that she hadn't punched him in the gut and locked herself in her room.

"Miss Kaoru," Kamatari moved over to the apprehensive girl and patted her cheek reassuringly. "It appears you've finally been caught up in our little, ah, tragedy."

"What are you talking about, Tari?"

"Well," he turned to face the other woman briefly. "May I introduce Tokio Himura?"

"Himura?" Kaoru looked horrified and confused all at the same time. "You mean, as in _Kenshin Himura_? Aoshi's foreman?" She knew that the bombshell had dropped before she left with the redhead that evening, but to actually see the cause of so much pain standing right in front of her.

"That's right. This is his sister." Kamatari watched the play of confused emotions rush across Kaoru's face and then took a deep breath. "She also happens to be Mr. Saitou's ex-wife."

"Ex... she's… what! Why would she be here?" Suddenly everything made sense. Horrible, awful sense. All the nasty, insinuating insults the woman had heaped on her. Her freaking out about Kaoru being in this particular room, the white fur coat... this was the woman who was responsible for the way Saitou treated her, the hatred he drowned her in, punishments she endured because of this woman...for this woman. She wanted explanations, and she wanted them now.

"What did you do to him?" she spat, breaking away from Saitou's hold and shoving her nose up into the other woman's face. "I want to know what you did because I'm bearing the brunt of his anger and hatred in your place, just like any woman that's crossed his path since you. And just for the record, if anyone is a bitch around here, it's you. I didn't do anything to _you_. I didn't _know_ this used to be _your_ room. I knew it was Mr. Saitou's ex-wife's room because Tari told me, but I didn't know _who_ you were. How _dare_ you treat me like this and make such assumption about my character. I'm not that kind of a girl. For your information, I'm still a virgin!"

"Well, I should hope so at eighteen," Saitou muttered.

Kaoru directed her venomous glare toward him. "I'm twenty-seven you overgrown ape!" She then redirected her attention to the woman. "I'm not a slut like some people. I don't sleep with just anybody. Now you tell me what you did to this man to make him treat women like garbage, or I'm kicking the shit out of you."

Tokio backed up from the seething, blue-eyed wolverine snapping at her throat. Her gaze darted from one man to the other, looking for help with the threat but found none coming her way. Instead, Saitou folded his arms across his chest and Kamatari clasped his hands behind his back. Neither made any move to stop the girl.

"If I were you, Tokio, I'd tell her what she wants to know. Just from my own experience, she's a pit-bull. The only thing that might save you is if her towel falls off." Saitou smiled a small, acidic twist of the lips. He was enjoying this. A quick look in Kamatari's direction showed the slender cook was enjoying it as well.

"I... I, ah..." Tokio was suddenly at a disadvantage. This girl wasn't bluffing. She could see it on her face. She really would try to do her physical harm if she didn't tell her what happened. She was backed into a corner with nowhere to go.

"I...I had an affair with Hajime's foreman, Shishio Makato."

"You what?" Kaorus eyes bugged out of her head. "Are you insane? Did you do it after you got married or before?"

"Um... both." Her eyes lowered. She couldn't meet the blazing blue gaze any longer.

"_Both_!" The impact of that single word hit Kaoru like a two-ton bale of hay. This woman had been cheating on Saitou before and after they'd gotten married. And she had the nerve to show up now, ten years later saying that he belonged to her? She was a real piece of work. "You got married while you were having an affair with another man?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I thought I could have both of them." Tokio raised her head and stared defiantly into Kaoru's face. "I loved them both and I wanted them both. What would you have done?"

"I wouldn't have gotten married." Karou stepped back and looked at Tokio like she had some intractable skin disease. "So what happened? Did you get caught?"

"No...I...I got pregnant."

"By whom?"

"Shishio."

"When did you find out?"

"Two weeks after Hajime and I got married." Tears glistened in her eyes. "We ran away. We had to. I knew if I told Hajime about the baby, he'd kill Shishio."

"Gee, go figure." Kaoru's voice dripped with sarcasm. "Then what?"

"We went to Oklahoma and filed for an annulment. I sent Hajime a telegram telling him what happened. After the annulment went through, I sent him papers. It was all I could do."

"Wasn't that just awfully sweet of you? Looks like you thought of everything, didn't you?" Kaoru felt like she wanted to throw up. "What happened to the baby? I don't see any kids with you."

"I lost the baby when I was five months along. I found out then that I can't have kids. Something about my uterus being tipped too far forward or something." She shrugged and looked away again. "I guess I wish I had known that sooner."

"Why?"

"I wouldn't have left. I could have broken things off with Shishio, waited for the miscarriage, and then just gone on as things were. I'd still be with Hajime and everything would be fine."

"You know something?" Kaoru walked back over to the woman. "You're one twisted up girl if you think that is okay. You don't treat people that way. Especially not the man you're supposed to love. He deserves better than that from you, and this man definitely deserved better than he ever got when he was with you. He's better off without you. Too bad he never saw it that way. You called me a whore? You better go take a long look in the mirror, girl. I think that word describes you a lot better than it does me."

Unknown to Kaoru, Saitou was having an emotional overload behind her. His brain was racing, his heart was pounding, and he couldn't believe the words that were coming out of her mouth. She was defending _him_. She was giving Tokio the dress down of her life and doing a better job at it then he ever had. He just couldn't believe she was doing it.

He was ready for hell to freeze over.

_(A/N: Your turn Belle, dear._

_Thanks to everyone for your support and the great reviews. God Bless. Tsuki-san)_

_Edited: 2/20/10_


	9. Chapter Nine

**Chapter Nine**

It would be sufficient to say that Kaoru did not get much sleep after her confrontation. She spent the night tossing and turning and contemplating whether or not going to Shinomori's just to avoid the insanity of Star S Ranch. The woman's hateful words echoed the ones that had fallen from Saitou's lips only hours before.

How dare they call her something such as that wretched word! '_Whore._' And she was mortified by her own response of revealing that she was still a virgin at such an old age, but it couldn't be helped, not after what happened to her when she was at university. The attack had scarred her in such a way that she'd been forced to withdraw from school months shy of completing her degree. Therapists didn't help, but the horses did. She spent more and more time on her father's farm even as he seemed to spent more and more time in the city. Sano was the only one she'd talk to and he was gone more often than present due to his touring with the rodeo. The world just seemed to move on without her.

She certainly didn't deserve to be treated in such a degrading fashion by Saitou and his ex. Life really hadn't been easy. Just when she'd finally recovered enough to go back to school and finish her degree someone went and killed her father. Unfortunately, when you are murdered in Washington, D.C. where the police are overwhelmed by the highest murder rate per capita there aren't many resources to finding the culprit unless you're a powerful politician. If it wasn't for her father's debts, she would have returned to her college town and worked as a waitress at the local café or something to pay tuition because she knew he'd have wanted her to finish. The accomplishment could have been made in his honor.

The reality was that she truly was stuck at Hajime Saitou's god-forsaken ranch, The Star S. Kaoru flipped over onto her stomach and buried her face against her pillow, hoping to block out the memories of the night before. However, she soon decided it was better to breathe and flopped once more onto her back to stare at the canopy over her bed.

"Oh, father, why did you have to leave Sano and me such a mess?" Kaoru asked, for not the first time, and surely not the last. The whole tragic end to her father's peaceful life still didn't make sense. The man had kept secrets from her and Sano. As long as they kept up with the payments on his debt they'd be fine, but if they fell behind...

One day when she would finally have her Masters degree she could move to the city and forget anything and everything that had to do with ranch life. She'd miss the horses. However, she couldn't leave Sano alone with the worry of their father's debt. They were bound to get a break eventually.

From what they could find out her father's debts had involved horse races and a nasty habit of gambling she'd never been aware of before. The men he seemed to take his loans out from were a bad sort and none-too forgiving. She shuddered thinking about the night that her father was killed and how there were so many similarities to the horrible night where she was attacked six and a half years ago. Were they related? It was only after her victimization that her father became involved in the horse races. Had something scared him into thinking fast cash would solve their problems?

Kaoru threw back the covers and walked over to the window. The moon was still out but falling towards the western sky. Day would soon begin, but not for another hour or so. Kaoru ran her tongue over her teeth, feeling the sharp edge. She walked to the bathroom sink and splashed some cold water on her face to wake her fully up. Then after a quick dive to the back of her closet for Ru's clothing and a fast brushing of her teeth she was ready to start the day early. After last night's events she was looking forward to donning the role of Ru. Things were much simpler as Soujiro's little brother.

She couldn't risk walking through the house dressed as Ru, so she threw on her bathrobe over her boy-clothes and peered down the hall from her bedroom door. Once satisfied that no one would be walking by soon, she shut and locked the door. She then tossed her robe back into her closet and headed for the window, pausing only to pick up her small flashlight.

She was getting rather talented at dangling from the ledge under her window and jumping to the ground, a story below her room. Once again she surveyed the area to make sure no one was around while hiding behind the ever-so convenient bushes.

With a brisk pace she approached the barn and began to groom both Soujiro's horse and her own. The action soothed her as the beautiful dark mane of her quarter horse gleamed in the dim light of the barn. By the time she was finished the sun had begun to crest the horizon. Her stomach growled and Kaoru glanced back in the direction of the ranch house.

"No way in hell am I eating there," she mumbled to her four-hoofed friend.

"You could eat with the rest of us hands over in the barracks," Soujiro suggested, causing Kaoru to jump at his unexpected intrusion.

"I didn't know you were there," Kaoru informed him as she tried to force her heart back out of her throat, since that's where it had flown in her surprise.

Soujiro grinned at her as he walked confidently to her side and plucked the grooming brush from her hand. He placed it on the nearby table outside of the stall. "If you had known I was here I wouldn't have been able to scare you like I planned," he informed her with a sunny expression.

Kaoru huffed at him and crossed her arms over her chest. "You didn't scare me. I was just surprised was all."

Soujiro merely lifted a brow and smirked at her. "I can't believe my own little brother couldn't hear me enter." He shook his head in disappointment.

Ebony brows drew together under Kaoru's wide-brim hat. "Well maybe if you weren't so scrawny you'd weigh more and make more sounds when you moved. Ghost boy," Kaoru muttered smirking in an identical manner.

Her comment earned a laugh out of Soujiro. He then responded by placing a brotherly arm around her shoulder and leading her away from the horses. "Looks like you're eating with the boys today, Ru. No more of this anti-social business. I need to make sure you eat up, because you're the runt, not me."

The two 'siblings' approached the outside picnic table near the hands' bunk house. The bunk cook was busy cooking bacon and eggs on the multi-purpose grill. Most of the ranch hands were still trying to cram in a few more minutes of sleep, so when Soujiro showed up with Kaoru the cook took immediate attention.

"Well I'll be damned," Okita exclaimed as he wiped his greasy hands on his apron. He was one of Hajime Saitou's old friends. They had both fought together about fifteen years ago as soldiers. He had contracted a debilitating disease, barely surviving the aftermath of the virus. Now he had a bad limp in his left leg, but he cooked fabulously when the time called for it. He preferred riding a horse, if he hadn't then Kamatari would have had some serious competition for the kitchen. As it was, Okita only cooked occasionally on the outdoor grills for the men, and it was normally just for breakfast.

Okita walked towards Kaoru and punched her softly in the shoulder. "It's about damn time you joined us for breakfast, boy." He smiled at her in a fatherly fashion that made Kaoru miss her own dad terribly. She couldn't help but notice the similarities between Okita and Soujiro.

"I've been busy," Kaoru muttered as she rubbed her sore shoulder.

Okita placed his hands upon his hips and met her gaze. He was hardly taller than she was. His dark hair, the exact shade of Soujiro's and his eyes a similar shade of blue. "Funny, my brother never mentioned having a second son."

Kaoru's eyes bugged out. "Excuse me?"

Okita winked at her and walked back to tend to the breakfast. Soujiro laughed nervously. "Yeah, I guess I failed to mention that Uncle Okita works here. He and Saitou have been friends since the dawn of time."

"So he knows?" Kaoru hissed under her breath.

"He knows you're not my brother, but that's all, Ru." Soujiro answered quietly, leaving Kaoru to figure out exactly what he meant by it.

**OoO**

The previous night, in lieu of attending the ball, Kenshin had gone through some old scrap books filled with newspaper clippings that dated back two decades or so. There was a nagging feeling at the back of his mind that he simply couldn't ignore.

He knew that Kaoru was pretending to be the young cowboy, Ru, but the similarities between Kaoru and Soujiro were too staggering to be coincidental. That's when he found the article about the great scandal between George Seta and Madeline Bishop. _The Rattler_ might not be the best source for serious news, but when you wanted gossip there was none better.

At the time George and his wife, Brianna were separated. They had only been married for three years and had a one-year old son, Soujiro. George had started taking Madeline Bishop, his high school sweetheart, to all the cattlemen functions.

Their little affair lasted for about three months before George and Brianna reconciled. Kenshin couldn't help but notice the similarities between Kaoru and Madeline. His curiosity led him to the county library early the next morning to look through old documents. After three hours of diligent searching he still hadn't found anything. The librarian seemed to take pity on him and suggested he utilize the library's new internet archive as it linked to newspaper articles from all over the country.

After twenty minutes he had a hit from a newspaper in Virginia. Almost a year-and-a-half after Madeline had been in the gossip columns with George Seta she married a man named Kamiya.

The excitement of his discovery sent him quickly to his truck to return back to the ranch and confront the two pretend siblings with this development. He was almost out of gas so he stopped to fill up his tank. While in line to pay for his dinosaur fossil fuel he discovered the latest event that had sent the town into an uproar.

"Oh, Ken, I simply cannot _believe_ that horrible woman would return," Megumi approached him, arms full of water bottles. "I just came by the convenient store to stock up on some water for my patients when I heard. How are you coping with having her back?" Her dark eyes were flirtatious as she feigned sympathy.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you are talking about, that I don't," Kenshin answered carefully as he paid the clerk what he owed.

Megumi blinked at him in astonishment. "Your sister is in town and you didn't know?"

The change he held was crushed as his hand involuntarily made a fist at the news. "No, I did not." Kenshin realized his hand was clenched tightly and relaxed it, calmly placing the crinkled bills into his wallet. "Do you happen to know where she is?"

"She's staying over at Saitou's," Megumi answered, still confused that Kenshin wouldn't know.

"I see," Kenshin answered. And he did see, too clearly, that Tokio would only bring trouble back into his life.

Soujiro and Ru were separated from the rest of the hands as usual on the far boundaries of the pastures. It seemed that the fastest, most clever cattle liked to travel out into that area. It was like Aoshi had some sort of bait that attracted them to wander over near his land.

That was where Kenshin found them. He had a feeling that he would want to find Kaoru first. If he knew his sister, as soon as she discovered another woman was on the premises her claws would be out and raking. He wanted to share with the two probable half-siblings the results of his impromptu research, but perhaps that was to wait for another, more appropriate time. "If I didn't know better, I'd think the two of you would rather work for Mr. Shinomori, that you would," Kenshin called out as he approached them on a dark brown mare.

Soujiro smirked at him. "It would take all the pleasure of beating you at a rodeo contest away if we were to work together."

Kenshin tipped his hat at Kaoru. "Ru, you're looking lovely today." He winked at her, causing her to blush before he slid off his horse. His expression changed from light-hearted teasing to somber seriousness in a matter of milliseconds. "I'd like to apologize for my sister."

"I can't believe you wouldn't help your own sister out in a time of trouble," Kaoru countered as she too slid off her horse. "She may be a horrible person, but family is family."

Kenshin smiled at the woman, dressed like a boy. "I didn't know she was here until about an hour ago while I was in town. It would seem that I am the last to know."

"The ice-bitch called Kaoru some pretty nasty things last night," Soujiro said with a winked at Kaoru. "Ru told me all about it. Kaoru likes to confide in him and all."

"I'll bet," Kenshin agreed with a warm smile before turning his expression serious again. "I don't know why she's here but I can assure you it's not for any good reason."

"My guess is she wants to run Saitou through the ringer again. Can't say he doesn't deserve it since he practically gave her permission to by giving her a place to stay," Kaoru muttered. She began to inspect her nails glad that she'd had the presence of mind last night to remove the polish and flicked away the dirt that was starting to accumulate under them from a busy morning. If Tokio saw her nails in such horrible condition no doubt she would start raising suspicion.

"I just wanted to warn you to be careful around her," Kenshin explained. "If you need anything, even to get away, you are always welcome here."

"I appreciate that. We have to head back now, its time for chow and Okita is determined to get to know his long lost nephew," Kaoru explained with a wary glance at her watch.

**OoO**

Saitou's nerves were shot. All night he had tossed and turned. He couldn't believe the raw hand fate had dealt him. Why after all these years would Tokio return to his life? And why did she have to be so damn beautiful still? She was supposed to have gained sixty pounds and have grey hair.

She still looked like an exotic ice sculpture. She had the heart of one too.

Any possibility that she was the kind woman that he thought she was when they courted had been destroyed when he'd overheard her abuse of Kamiya.

Good Lord, what was he going to do about Kamiya?

The way Kaoru had defended herself in nothing but a towel had set his blood to boiling in his veins. He had always considered her a conniving nuisance. The previous night had made him feel like a complete ass-hole. Not only had he make her cry by throwing such untrue and callous remarks at her at the Cattlemen's Ball, but then he was horrible to her on the front porch about Shinomori.

The fact that, in spite of his abuse of her, she had defended him in front of his ex-wife caused him to re-evaluate his whole treatment of women in general post-Tokio. His treatment of Kaoru, especially, was under re-evaluation. He shouldn't have denied her the job she needed. Sanosuke was a fine foreman and he knew that Kaoru was probably just as talented as her brother. Speaking of Sanosuke, he had hunted him down earlier that morning after he returned from the Vet, demanding to know Kaoru's whereabouts.

Apparently blood runs thicker than a pay check. Even with the threat of job termination Sano wouldn't tell Saitou where his sister had gone for the day. And Sano had also seemed annoyed about something else entirely, but that was none of Saitou's business.

Saitou wanted to apologize to Kaoru, damn it.

He also wanted to avoid Tokio. The woman seemed to be around every corner in the house. He was pretty safe from her presence if he was to hang out with his men in the wretched heat. Kamatari was given the all important task of baby-sitting Tokio, or rather keeping her away from Saitou. Of course he wasn't happy about this because it meant he'd lost his cooking duty to Okita.

After a scan of his boys Saitou sighed, internally disappointed to find both Ru and Soujiro absent. He lit a cigarette and observed the crude way cowboys ate when they were starved from a long morning, especially that Yahiko boy. His crappy morning felt a little uplifted when he noticed two figures riding a pair of horses with grace and fluidity.

"Didn't think the two of you boys were going to join us," Okita commented when Soujiro and Ru allowed their horses to graze under the shade of a large oak tree.

"And miss your famous chili?" Soujiro asked with exaggerated astonishment. "Never would we consider committing such a crime!" A roll was promptly thrown at Soujiro's grinning face. Calmly he caught it before it fell to the ground and took out a hearty bite.

"Hey, Ru, I've got your plate over here," Sano called out to his sister in disguise. Kaoru rinsed her hands in the sink attached to the back of the bunk house before sitting beside her older brother.

Some of the hands began to clear away from the picnic table after finishing their meal. The seat across from Kaoru cleared up and Saitou seated himself there. "Was there a problem in the fields?" Saitou asked Ru after he settled down in front of her and continued to smoke.

Kaoru narrowed her eyes. "Are you trying to give my food a smoked flavor?"

Saitou found himself laughing and tossed the cigarette to the dirt, crushing it under his boot. "Why would I want to hurt one of my most valuable men?"

"I'm sure you'd get some sort of insurance claim off my demise," Kaoru retorted. She couldn't quite forget how Saitou had treated her the previous night. Just because she was in her alias state didn't mean she was going to sit back and chat like they were best buds.

Saitou scratched his chin thoughtfully at the comment, enjoying the banter with the young man. He truly enjoyed the boy's witty responses--he seemed to avoid talking but when he did speak it was always intelligent. He wouldn't admit to Sano how satisfied he was in his choice to hire Sou's younger brother. "Perhaps I should see if my policy covers such a thing."

A dragonfly happened to land on the end Kaoru's spoon. She lifted the silverware closer to her face to exam the insect. She placed her finger beside the long handle of the spoon and was pleased when the dragonfly walked on her index finger and settled itself there.

Fascinated, Sano reached his finger to touch the tip of his sister's. She always had a talent for catching dragonflies and butterflies. She'd have them land on her and then could coax them to land on other people too always careful to avoid touching their fragile wings. Sano grinned when the relic from the dinosaur age walked onto his finger.

Saitou watched the exchange. It was odd to see someone like Sanosuke Sagara act like a child. It would seem that Ru had that effect upon people. The boy certainly had the effect on him because just sitting near him for a minute helped relieve some of the stress he felt at having his ex-wife on the premises.

"There wasn't a problem in the fields. Himura just came over to apologize for his sister. He only found out she had returned an hour ago," Ru answered the question belatedly.

Whatever bliss Saitou might have been feeling vanished. He rubbed the ball of tension that was building between his eyes as the truth sank in. Tokio was telling more lies. He should send her packing. He knew that he should.

"Is something wrong, Mr. Saitou?" Soujiro asked concerned as he sat beside Saitou on the bench.

Sano glanced up after the dragonfly flew off and noticed Saitou rubbing his forehead. It didn't look like now was the time to inform him that his ex-wife had been hitting on him that morning.

"I don't suppose any of you have seen Kaoru?" Saitou asked, unexpectedly.

Kaoru, Sano, and Soujiro all exchanged a brief look with one another and shook their heads.

"It's just as well," Saitou muttered under his breath as he rose. He hadn't stepped two feet away when the sound of a horse at a full canter caught his attention. He turned, only to see Aoshi Shinomori on his property.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Saitou demanded, a sneer forming on his face.

"Good day to you too," Aoshi returned, observing those in attendance in a quick scan. It seemed that most had returned to the fields leaving only Saitou, Seta, Sagara, and Kaoru. Aoshi did a double take and locked eyes with Kaoru. Her eyes grew large and he knew there was probably a reason she was dressed like a man.

"Get off my property," Saitou ordered amber eyes narrowed spitefully. "I don't have time for your bullshit."

"What an apt phrase to use." Aoshi's attention rested back upon Saitou. "I simply came to inform you that your prized bull managed to find his way onto my property," Aoshi answered with a cool and bland expression.

"My bull?" Saitou's attention was immediately piqued. "How the hell did he get over there?"

Aoshi shrugged. "I'm not God, and not omnipotent, despite popular belief."

Saitou forgot about his million dollar bull and glared at the arrogant man standing before him. "Do you know where Kamiya is?"

Aoshi smiled lazily and the effect was chilling. "As a matter of fact I do."

Kaoru's heart stopped beating. Her charade was about to end here and now.

"Since you were such a bastard to her last night, she's spending the day at my ranch. My grandmother is visiting and is teaching Kaoru how to knit," Aoshi lied easily and smoothly.

"I see," Saitou remarked, not liking the image of Kaoru spending time with Aoshi's extended family. He didn't like the image one bit. "I suppose you have detained my bull?"

"He's safe and sound, I'll return him after you figure out how he escaped. I would hate for anything to happen to him," Aoshi answered sincere in his concern. He didn't want Saitou's ranch to suffer. The narrowing of Saitou's eyes however, showed that the other man didn't quite believe his words.

"Let's go and see what this about." Saitou motioned for Sano, Kaoru, and Soujiro to follow him. Kaoru lagged behind a bit to walk alongside Aoshi.

"You do realize you're going to be explaining this to me very soon," Aoshi informed her quietly under his breath, so that only her ears could pick up his voice.

Kaoru gave him a side-ways glance. "Of course, perhaps while your grandmother is giving me more knitting tips."

Aoshi watched her walk away from him and shook his head. It was simply too rich that Hajime Saitou, the man known for his attention to detail, couldn't recognize Kaoru. Perhaps the old saying was true and people only saw what they wished to see.

Saitou stopped outside the pen that occasionally housed his prized bull when his normal pen was under repairs. It would seem the beast got a little claustrophobic and decided to break out and do some exploration of the great beyond. Saitou glanced over his shoulder towards Aoshi with annoyance when he was talking with Ru.

Damn it! The boy belonged to him! Damn Shinomori to hell if he thought he could have Kaoru and Ru! He noticed that the boy had finished whatever conversation he was having with the dark haired owner or the Black Snake Ranch. "Ru, come here!"

It didn't take long for the young man to catch up. The youth's hand was clamped down on his cowboy hat, as if he was afraid it would fly off. It's not like it would be the end of the world if such a thing happened. "Come look at this and tell me what you think happened."

Ru bent over to peer at the mangled wooden fence. It was splintered, indicating the bull had broken free on his own accord. "Looks like your million dollar bull got a little restless being locked up," Kaoru answered, staring at the broken fence instead of meeting Saitou's gaze.

Saitou tugged at his collar; it was outrageously hot and he wanted to know why in Sam's hell he kept staring at Ru's butt. It wasn't like he had a thing for men, Kamatari might but he didn't. Tokio may have been a grade-A bitch but it was no reason to convert to the other side. And Shinomori seemed to have taken the only other female that had the balls to talk to him. Er….perhaps that was a bad analogy.

"Obviously," Saitou answered in a chipped tone. He could really use another cigarette right about now. Too bad he had used his last one during lunch.

"Perhaps a wooden fence isn't strong enough. We ought to use steel or something," Kaoru suggested.

"You really are a cheapskate," Aoshi commented as he walked up to the fence beside Sano and Soujiro. "Did you honestly believe that a wooden fence would keep a two-ton bull locked up securely?"

Saitou glared back at him with fire in his eyes. "This isn't his normal cell. He was only here temporarily while that boy Yahiko was cleaning out his normal holding pen."

Sanosuke scratched his head. "Yeah, about that, we need some more pitchforks. The brat sort of broke our only one."

"What?" Saitou asked; his voice took on a dangerous, brittle tone.

Sano laughed nervously. "Well he couldn't finish the stall without a pitchfork. I meant to bring it up during lunch."

"Your bull is safely contained at the Black Snake. I will be happy to keep him another day while you make sure he will be secure here," Aoshi offered.

Saitou locked eyes with his rival rancher. Fire and ice clashed. "I don't think I want you having anything else that is mine at your ranch."

Aoshi's eyes narrowed dangerously. "The only thing I have of yours is that bull. But if you can't take care of certain _things,_ maybe they would be better off with me."

Kaoru stood up slowly from her bent position of examining the broken fence. She looked from Saitou to Aoshi and worried about the tension emanating from the two of them. Sano and Soujiro were both backing away, obviously not wanting to be involved.

"You'll not keep what is mine," Saitou warned.

"Hey guys," Kaoru interrupted, drawing the attention of the two ranchers. "Why don't we see what Yahiko needs help with so that we can get the bull's quarters secure?"

"Fine," Saitou answered in a growl as he took hold of Ru's arm and jerked forward. "Let's go then."

Aoshi, Sano, and Soujiro watched the two walk away. Sano turned to Aoshi. "So, I hope you know how to knit, because as far as I know Kaoru doesn't do anything domestic."

Aoshi didn't say anything but turned to watch Saitou drag off Kaoru in disguise. He had a very odd feeling about the whole situation.

_**(A/N: Thanks CatFoxGlove for your input and enthusiasm as editor. Thanks to CharmedReality for listening to my ranting all the time.**_ _**Now, KnT it's your turn!)**_

_Edited: 2/20/10_


	10. Chapter Ten

_(A/N: Beat me, flog me, stone in Wal-Mart parking lot... I know... I'm late. Bad Tsuki, bad Tsuki, bad Tsuki... Gomen nasai to Belle. Gomen nasai to the fans and readers._

_"The Road to Hell is paved with good intentions."_

_I should be at least three quarters of the way there by now. Kanzen ne Tsuki)_

**Chapter Ten**

**Once Around The Track**

Sano was standing behind a ruffled looking Saitou, who was still barking orders on how he expected the bull's pen cleaned out despite the lack of pitchforks, and all he could think about was Superman and Lois Lane. How many years did stupid old Lois go looking right into Clark Kent's face and not realize he was the dude in blue? Sano remembered laughing at the TV show and saying to Kaoru, "No one is really that stupid..." Well, he was going to have to change that opinion.

Not only had Shinomori's foreman, Kenshin, seen right through Kaoru's disguise, but so had Shinomori. So what was up with Saitou that he was the only one who couldn't tell 'Ru' was really 'Kaoru'? Once more, the word 'stupid' came to mind and he shook his head. The sexist old boy was going to see what he wanted to see, and that wasn't Kaoru. Present moment not included.

Saitou was still ranting about Kaoru being over at Shinomori's ranch without him knowing about it. Every few barks or so, he would turn back to Sano and demand to know if he knew when she was coming back.

"I don't like the fact that she is over there, Sanosuke."

"I understand that, Mr. Saitou, but her whereabouts are really not your concern seeing as she's not your employee. You told her not to bring Mr. Shinomori here; and she didn't. He took her there, and I think that is about as close to following your dictates as she can get, don't you agree?"

Saitou fumed and thinned his lips. He hated when someone threw his own words back at him, especially when they were using them to prove a point against him. "Yes, I agree, but I don't trust Shinomori. He may try something with her."

"Try something?" Sano swallowed his laughter. "Mr. Shinomori has been nothing but the perfect gentleman since he's met Kaoru. I have no qualms with her being with him. Besides, what's he gonna do with his Grandma right there?"

Saitou was trapped with that comment and he knew it. "Fine, but if anything does happen to her it's on your head."

"It would have been anyway, Sir. She's my sister."

"Go get Sou and Ru. I want the three of you to go over to Shinomori's and get my bull. The pen should be cleaned up by the time you get back with him. He's been a 'guest' over there long enough. I don't want him to start getting comfortable."

"Yes, sir." Sano tipped his hat and headed out to find the other two. It was going to be a long afternoon.

**OoO**

"You've certainly turned this whole thing into a fine mess, little sister."

"Me? I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't done anything."

"Are you shitting me? First Himura recognizes you through your get-up, and now Mr. Shinomori. You're just lucky they are both descent men, or they would have blown your cover wide open. I told you this was a bad idea from the start, but, noooo... you wouldn't listen to me."

"Shut-up, Sano. It is not a bad idea and we can use the extra income. Even if Mr. Saitou finds out, he still has to pay me for the work I've already done." Kaoru stared ahead, watching the road between the points of her horse's ears. "He couldn't be that big of a jerk to cheat me out of money I earned."

"I wouldn't put anything past him when he gets riled up, Missy. And you seem to have the gift of being able to rile him up just about better than anybody..."

"Except pretty, miss Tokio. Did you see his face when I told him Himura just wanted to apologize for his sister 'cause he just found out she was in town? He looked ready to explode. I think she's playing him for a fool... I bet she told him Himura wouldn't let her stay with him and that's why he let her stay at the Star S."

"Kaoru, you're gossiping... you know how Dad hated it when you gossiped and started getting into other people's business."

"I am not gossiping." Her eyes flashed as she threw her brother an angry look. "I'm... hypothesizing."

Soujiro couldn't help it any longer. He burst into laughter and nearly fell off his horse.

"And what's so funny?" she growled at her other companion.

"I'm sure glad we aren't related for real, little girl." Soujiro dabbed at tears sparkling in the corners of his eyes. "I'm not sure I could keep up with you. You set a fierce pace, that you do."

"Oh...shut-up, both of you. With the two of you around, I'll never have to worry about accumulating any real enemies. You're worse than anything I could pick up out in the real world." Except she knew that they weren't and as soon as the words were out of her mouth memories buried deep within her psyche started to flare up of what a real enemy was capable.

"Hey," Sano turned mock-pain filled eyes in his sister's direction. "That hurts, you know, and if I had a heart, I might actually cry." He snuffled.

The sound of her brother's pouting distracted Kaoru from her dark reverie. "Stow it, Rooster-head. One more crack out of you or Pretty-boy over here, and I'm gonna deck you."

"Aww, come on, Missy. I was just funnin' with ya." Sano winked and gave her his famous boyish half-smile. "You know, you love me."

Kaoru snorted and kicked her horse, urging it into a fast trot. "Yeah," she called over her shoulder. "But that don't mean I have to like you all the time."

"She got ya there, cowboy," Soujiro quipped with a chuckle.

"Shut-up, pretty-boy." Sano glared at the retreating form of his sister. He just hated it when she got in the last word.

**OoO**

The three riders approached the Black Snake Ranch about thirty minutes later and were casually greeted by a smiling redhead, holding a glass of brownish liquid.

"Hey," Kenshin called, waving his free hand. "You guys thirsty? I just got done brewing some ice tea?"

"Sounds great, I was worried that was your drinking water with all that brown." Sano slid off his horse and looped the reins around the convenient hitching post in front of the house. "Not that I would have cared much since I feel like I swallowed half the road on the way here."

"Yeah, and I swallowed the other half," Soujiro added as he tied up his mount.

"Oh, now hey there, Seta. You don't have an excuse." Kenshin laughed and winked at the younger man. "You've been a desert rat way too long for the dust to be a problem for you, but these two tender-foot's...well, that's a whole different story."

"I'm not a tenderfoot." Kaoru sauntered up the steps and glared Kenshin in the eyes. "I've been eating dust since I was about seven."

"Uh-huh. Does that mean you don't want a cold drink?" K enshin offered an indulgent smile, recognizing that her dander was up and decided not to add fuel to the fire.

Blue eyes flashed with embarrassment and Kaoru lowered her gaze. "Um, actually..."

"Of course you would. Come on in, everybody. Cold drinks all around." Soft, dry chuckles followed the foreman through the front door as he led the way inside. Kaoru sheepishly followed, throwing a warning look over her shoulder at the two grinning cowboys behind her.

"Don't either of you dare say one word," she threatened. "I mean it."

Inside Sano and Soujiro removed their hats, but Kaoru stubbornly kept her's on...like it was going to make any difference. They did all remove their boots at the door and then waited in the foyer. When Kenshin returned with a tray of glasses and a pitcher of tea and led them to the sitting room, he eyed Kaoru strangely.

"You know, you don't have to wear that around me... or Aoshi, don't you?"

"I..." she shrugged and looked nervous.

"Kaoru," Kenshin sat down and motioned for everyone else to sit. "It's not like we don't know 'who' you are, so take your hat off and be comfortable. Please?"

"Fine." Her voice was short and small, but the hat came off and perched in her lap. "Where is Aoshi anyway?"

"He's certainly not knitting with his grandmother," he said with a grin. "He's down pasture roping up Saitou's bull. It seems the old boy's found himself a couple of girlfriends and he's not too pleased about leaving. The boys were having some trouble getting their hands on him."

"The Boss isn't going to be too pleased about that." Soujiro shook his head as he accepted a glass of tea with a lemon wedge. "He's already got plans for mating that bull with several of his own heifers, not to mention the breeding revenue he's planning on raking in once he shows him at the State and County Fairs this year. Mr. Shinomori getting 'it' for free just isn't going to sit well at all."

"Sorry about that, Sou, but it couldn't be helped."

"True," Sano was nodding with his companion and looking thoughtful over the top of his glass, and then with his eye sparkling a devilish gleam, he said. "But what can you do with a horny bull in a meadow filled with fresh, willing women? I don't know about you, but I'm not so sure I'd want to try and get in his way. He might mistake me for one of them heifers. Now you talk about being screwed... whoa, big boy."

"Sanosuke!" Kaoru screeched, her face going beet red. Kenshin and Soujiro busted into peals of laughter. Soujiro almost choked on his tea.

"Pretty cool stuff in this place," Sano commented as his gaze went over the various art pieces.

"Mr. Shinomori collects," Kenshin answered. He looked out the window and motioned for them to put their boots back on. "Speaking of the great collector he's about here. We best go and meet him."

Aoshi and two of his men arrived with the massive beast in tow. It was taking the strength of three horses to keep the bull under control, and Sano was quietly thankful there were three of them to escort the mammoth back to The Star S. Otherwise, they might have had a real problem on their hands. Having Shinomori show up on the ranch again, or even Himura would just be too much for Saitou to handle. It would be World War III Nuclear Holocaust for sure, and the fallout would last for weeks. None of them needed that.

"You're sure you can handle him from here?" Aoshi was concerned. He didn't like the idea of Kaoru being in the middle of taking the bull back to Ranch. "I'd be more than happy to..."

"No, thanks, Mr. Shinomori." Sano tipped his hat politely. "I'm sure we'll be fine. He looks pretty tuckered out as it is. I don't think he'll give us much trouble."

"I appreciate that, Mr. Sagara, but your sister..."

"Is more than capable of doing what needs to be done." Sano's eyes turned hard though the tone of his voice remained the same. "No offense, Mr. Shinomori, but we've had about all the emotional theatrics today we care to deal with. I know you don't have any idea why Kaoru's doing what she's doing, and frankly, it's none of your business.

"If she wants to explain it to you, that is up to her, but if you go interfering with 'Ru' doing his job, you're going to blow her cover. I can't let you do that. I appreciate your intentions, I really do, but I can't accept them. That's her choice, not mine. If I had my choice, she'd be back at the ranch helping Kamatari fix supper.

"Trouble is, I haven't ever been able to control what she does... at least, not with too much success. So, unless you want hell to rain down on her head...and mine, you need to treat Ru like a man the same way you do me and Sou, here. Otherwise, our lives are gonna get a whole lot more complicated than they already are, and, trust me, I don't need that right now. Do you follow me?"

Aoshi stared hard into the younger man's face, trying to judge just what the hell was going on, and all he could come up with was the siblings were in some kind of trouble. "Mr. Sagara, if you need money, I can..."

"No!" The answer was short and sharp, Sano turning away to untie his horse. "We've never accepted charity or loans a day in our life. Our troubles are our own and we pay our own way." He turned back and offered the stunned man a stony expression. "I appreciate what you're trying to do, but the answer is and always will be no. When we get ourselves out of debt, we'll either find a way for Ru to disappear and Kaoru can find a job in town, or we'll move on. That's just the way it will have to be. I'd just appreciate it if you and Mr. Himura would be kind enough to keep our secret."

"Of course." Aoshi nodded, his need to help deflated. "But promise me something." He reached out and put a hand on Sano's shoulder. " If the hammer drops on your heads over there and you get stuck between a rock and a hard place... you come to me for help. I know you don't have anyone else to depend on, so I want you to promise me that. Will you?"

"I..." Sano looked down at the worn, scuffed toes of his boots and swallowed. It was a hard thing for him to do. He had to think about Kaoru. If Saitou ever found out what she was pulling on him, the explosion would reach all the way back to Virginia. "Okay." He locked gazes with the rancher. "I'll come to you if the shit hits... for her sake."

Kenshin decided it was not the right time to talk to Soujiro and Kaoru about George Seta and Madeline Bishop. It could wait.

"What's on your mind, Himura?" Aoshi asked when Saitou's crew left his lands with the bull under their control.

"Just more family drama. We've got plenty to do other than dwell on that, that we do."

"You're absolutely right about that Himura."

**OoO**

"Where is that damn kid?" Saitou fumed, glaring at Soujiro from behind his desk. "I send you off to get my bull and he disappears to parts unknown? What the hell is going on here, Seta? Surely your brother doesn't have two dead dogs."

"No, sir." Soujiro bit the inside of his cheek and geared himself up for the big lie. It was a good thing his Uncle was an understanding man. "It's been a while since Uncle Okita saw Ru, and after getting a look at him this morning... well, he wanted to take him home to spend a little time. I'm surprised he didn't mention it to you."

He decided that to scratch his head would be a good gesture to add to the confused act he was putting on. "I'm sure I heard him say he was going to run it by you before he took Ru off the ranch...hmm."

"You mean to tell me your Uncle has him?" Saitou's hands were on his hips and a half smoked cigarette hung out of his mouth. "He hasn't just up and disappeared?"

"No, sir. He's just over at Uncle Okita's for the evening. He'll be back in his bunk before eleven."

"Oh...well, all right." A puff of smoke rose around Saitou's face and he absently flicked the ash on the floor. "I suppose it's fine if he's spending some time with Okita. I hadn't thought about that. He probably hasn't seen the boy in years, has he?"

"No, sir. It's been at least... oh, five or six years, um-hum."

"That should make Okita happy then. Well, good enough. All right, Seta." He waved the young man off and turned to sit down behind his desk. "Oh, wait a minute. Have you seen Kamiya? Did she ever come back from Shinomori's place yet?"

"Oh, yes sir. I saw her about ten minutes ago. She was down by the paddock talking with her brother." Soujiro nodded at the strange, wide-eyed looked Saitou gave him, and wandered off down the hallway toward the bunkhouse and a hot shower.

"What the hell is she doing down by the paddock?" Saitou muttered to himself, taking a drag off his cigarette. "She'll get hurt down there... idiot woman." Without thinking about what he was doing, the tall, iron-willed man stood up and left his office. The determination in his stride leading him out the back of the ranch house, past the back gate, down the path toward the barn, and in search of one ebon-tressed, blue-eyed female.

It took him all of thirty seconds to find her once he passed the barn and entered the paddock. She was standing in the middle of the stalls, leaning over the gate, petting something. The soft crooning of her voice floated easily along the confined, tunnel-like space, and Saitou stopped to listen to it.

He noticed her jeans were stretched tight over her curvaceous buttocks and a wave of heat slithered through his vitals, bringing a hiss to lips. _'Damn her!'_ He thought as he clenched his fists as his sides. _'Why is this happening to me? Why is it happening with her? I don't even like her? Do I?'_

He took a deep breath and cautiously approached her. He didn't want to startle her, but he didn't want her to think he was sneaking up on her either. As it turned out, he would have been better off calling her name than walking up behind her.

Kaoru gently stroked the velvety nose of the elegant creature laying in the sweet smelling straw. 'Exitor', Saitou's prized white, quarter horse stud. Worth about $100,000. He was beautiful and Kaoru was smitten. Each time she touched him he would flick his ears and push against her hand. This big boy loved attention, but she also knew he loved to run. Sometimes the boys would let him loose in the pasture and he would go wild, bucking and crow-hopping all over the place, and then he would take off at a dead run and fly over the ground like a ghost on speed.

He was magnificence itself.

"You're nothing but a great big cream-puff, aren't you?" She crooned and ran her hand the length of his face and then tickled an ear. "And you're spoiled rotten, too." She giggled as a contented growl rumbled out of the big horse's chest. "You sound more like a big old bear than a horse. What are they feeding you anyway? Salmon and cavi... waaaaaeeep!"

Something brushed up against her hip and part of her ass and Kaoru freaked out. Squealing at the top of her lungs, she snapped up and stumbled back coming into abrupt contact with a solid, nearly immovable object. Then suddenly that object gave beneath her unsteady weight and both it and she fell backwards to the floor.

_THUMP THUD SKID_

"_OOOF!"_

"_OOWE!"_

It took Kaoru several seconds to clear her head and regain her bearings, and once she did several things became alarmingly clear to her.

She was on the floor with someone else.

She was sitting on top of that someone else's lap.

During the fall, that someone had grabbed her and pulled her against them to cushion her from the worst of the impact, and in the chaos, somehow, their hands had ended up cupping both of her breasts.

The boots sticking out of the Levi's flanking her legs were a rich black leather with intricately tooled patterns lacing up the sides and across the foot. On the toes were fancy gold tips that were also engraved. There was only one person she knew that wore boots like that.

'_Oh my God...'_ She was sitting in the middle of Hijame Saitou, and he was holding her breasts in his hands. _'What in the hell am I going to do now?'_ Behind her, Saitou was having much the same dilemma.

'_Holy fucking hell...how did this... what am I... aww shit!'_ "Ah, are you all right?" It was all he could think of.

"I...um... I think so. Are you? I mean, you hit the hardest. I landed on top of you." Once she said it, Kaoru could have bit her tongue.

"Ah, yes you did, but I think I'm fine. Maybe bruised my tailbone...and my dignity, but other than that..."

"Dignity?" A thread of humor trickled into her voice and she turned slightly so she could see his face. "You have dignity?" Thankfully, he chose that moment to tactfully lower his hands to her hips, a bit belatedly. "I thought it was just an over developed sense of arrogance and conceit."

"Conceit?" He lifted an eyebrow and locked gazes with her, the hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. For some very strange reason he couldn't find a shred of indignant anger or annoyance to throw in her face. Instead, he found their compromising situation rather stimulating. "I have been labeled many things in my life, but 'conceited' has not been among them."

"I find that difficult to believe." Kaoru was starting to feel rather warm, and her position in his lap wasn't as uncomfortable as it had been a moment ago. _'What's the matter with me?'_ She thought almost absently as her gaze dropped to his lips. _'I don't even like him...do I?'_

"Truly, I've usually been known to be quite a gentleman."

"Really?"

"Yes. May I help you up, Miss Kamiya?"

"It seems you'll have to, Mr. Saitou, seeing as how I'm splattered all over the middle of you at the moment. I'd probably hurt... things, if I tried to get up alone." A coy blush stained her cheeks as she dropped her eyes and turned away. _'What the hell am I doing?' _She screamed at herself. Are you out of your everlasting mind, girl? _You're flirting with the rudest...cruelest...meanest... God his eyes are gorgeous... KAORU! You like Aoshi... remember? Jeez, he smells good too...'_

Saitou carefully lifted the scant weight of Kaoru off of him and stood up, then he leaned down and pulled her to her feet. Unfortunately, Kaoru was still a bit unsteady on her feet and stumbled... right into his arms. His reflexes caught her, pinning her against his chest while preventing her from falling on her face. As she righted herself and stood up, her face brushed his, dragging her lips over the top of his. Both pulled back in surprise at the accidental contact, wide blue eyes meeting and locking with stunned gold.

"I..." She tried to apologize but nothing would come out of her mouth as she stared into his smoldering amber crystals.

"You, what?" He asked as his hand rose to cup the back of her head, his fingers tangling themselves inside the ebony silk.

"I..." Again she could say nothing, but her hands lifted to rest on his shoulders, massaging the sinuous muscles she found there.

"What's the matter, Kamiya? Cat got your tongue?" He watched her swallow and then slowly nod. "Sounds interesting," he murmured, increasing the pressure on her head and leaning down toward her. "I think I might try that myself."

"Oh... shit..." Kaoru finally found her voice just as Saitou's lips closed over hers, silencing whatever else she may have wanted to say.

**(A/N: Alas, there is no one to thank for helping... I am on my knees in eternal apology to those who have been waiting. They are the only ones who deserve to be thanked. Also, the most humble of thanks to my Belle, and the most deep of apologies. kneels and bangs head on floor in shame. Sits as such for 2 weeks .)**

_Edited: 2/20/10_


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Chapter Eleven**

Instinct.

It was simple primal instinct that drove him to act in such a manner.

That and the fact that after her lips innocently brushed against his, and her body had pressed tightly against his form, and her breasts had filled his hands, all but a few drops of blood had fled to his loins. The few drops that ran lonely circles in his brain were screaming warnings at him. She was too young, he was too old, she was too innocent, and he was too cynical and jaded. And yet, when Kaoru's mouth opened to Saitou's in a moan, he didn't hesitate to deepen the kiss.

Saitou's amber eyes were narrowed into slits of pleasure as he watched the woman in his arms close hers dreamily. He could feel the weight of her as her knees gave out and turned to mush and did the only respectable thing he could do in such a scenario. His hands slithered from around her hips to pull up her thighs and wrap those long, willowy legs of hers around his waist in a vise.

Kaoru was too in shock to pull out of the kiss. Her hormones ran amuck and she was absolutely lost in the moment. Never before had she been embraced with such passionate ardor. Her arms wrapped around his neck while her fingers plunged into his thick dark hair. Her chest was pressed against his so that her rapidly beating heart knocked directly into his. His fingers on her thighs tightened and sent more shivers of awareness through her.

She hardly even noticed when her back hit the barn wall a bit roughly.

"Damn it woman! Stop stalking me!" Sanosuke stormed into the barn, annoyance clear across his features until he came across a scene he was not soon to forget. His annoyance quickly was replaced by a deadly fire in his eyes. "What the hell is going on?"

Reality and chaos ensued. Saitou's functioning brain cells finally registered the sound of his angry foreman while Kaoru gasped and pulled back, looking back at him with wide, terrified eyes. Saitou's grip relaxed and he allowed the woman that was in his arms to slide out of his grip, and not a moment too soon.

"Bastard!" Sano declared as his fist went straight for Saitou's jaw; not waiting for any explanation, for surely none would suffice.

Tokio came rushing into the barn, having been delayed from following Sano when the latch on her bracelet broke, causing it to fall to the ground. It didn't take long to find the fallen charm, but the scene before her didn't need to be witnessed as she could see the evidence. She ignored Sano pounding her ex-husband as her gaze zoomed in on the swollen lips of Kaoru. There was only one way to have lips swollen like hers and she was certain that if she cared to look Saitou would have a similar condition.

"You slut!" Tokio roared as she took Kaoru by surprise and landed a fist in her eye. Kaoru quickly turned her shocked attention away from her brother and the man so recently kissing her to the she-devil before her. Tokio wouldn't hit her again.

Kaoru blocked the next wave of assault and managed to kick the woman's feet out from under her. When Tokio tried to stand again Kaoru jabbed her with a precisely aimed punch to her nose, satisfied that she would no longer pester her. She rubbed her tender knuckles easing their soreness from the hit.

"My God! You broke my futhing nose!" Tokio shouted, her hands covering the area, trying to stem the blood flow. Her shout distracted the two men from their testosterone driven pissing match to the females involved in their fight.

Sano ignored Tokio and rushed to Kaoru, noticing that her eye was already red. His thoughts were for the future and her ruse as Ru would not work if both he and Kaoru had black eyes. "Let's go." Sano told her, leading his sister away from the others. Sano turned at the barn's gate back to Saitou. "Don't come near her again, Boss man."

Saitou watched speechless with his lips pressed tightly together in irritation. He looked down dispassionately as Tokio sobbed about her broken nose. "You're not to harm Kaoru in any way, nor are you to stalk my men," he told her before taking out a handkerchief from his back pocket. He could use it on his own face, or he could give it to his ex-wife.

With some annoyance he tossed it down to her, before leaving out the opposite door of the barn. He would clean himself up in the bunkhouse.

Sano led Kaoru back to the house and crossed paths with Soujiro on the way. He took one look at the two distressed siblings and followed them inside. Kamatari slicing cucumbers in the kitchen when they entered the house and upon seeing Kaoru's face he abandoned the cucumbers and took a bag of frozen peas out of the freezer. The four conspirators then convened in Kaoru's bedroom.

Sano was pacing back and forth cracking his knuckles and swearing under his breath. Soujiro sat at the windowseat and was watching the barn outside the window. Kaoru sat next to Kamatari on her bed holding the bag of frozen peas held against her eye.

"What am I going to do?" Kaoru asked.

"Obviously Kaoru and Ru can't both have a black eye at the same time," Soujiro pointed out.

Kamatari said nothing as he sat quietly beside. He could hardly believe that Tokio had given the sweet young woman a black eye.

Kaoru sniffed. "I don't think I should stay here."

"Damn right, especially after you gave that crazy woman a broken nose, she'll try to poison you in your sleep or something," Sano agreed. He looked out her bedroom window towards the barn, his fingers flexing into a fist. "I can't believe that old pervert had his fucking hands all over you!" Sano snarled the vision coming back to him unwanted.

"Sano, you're overreacting," Soujiro told him calmly.

Sano glared down at Soujiro. "If you had seen him trying to eat your sister alive would you be acting so calmly? He treats her like crap and then the first opportunity he gets her alone he tries molesting her!"

Soujiro scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably as he glanced at Kaoru. "I can't say I like it much even though Kaoru isn't my sister, but we need to deal with the issue at hand."

"You'll just have to leave," Sano decided firmly. "I'll just fire Ru and you can just go and live over at Shinomori's for a while."

"You know we can't afford such a thing," Kaoru argued sensibly. Sano always seemed to forget such things like financial obligation. "We're in debt up to our eyeballs."

"Perhaps you could stay with Mr. Shinomori while your face heals while Ru can return to this ranch and work," Kamatari suggested, breaking his silence.

Kaoru raised her brow at him of the uninjured eye. "How will I explain this black eye of mine? Say I ran into a pole when I wasn't looking?"

Soujiro busted out laughing. "Don't be ridiculous! It's perfectly logical that you got it playing baseball this weekend while you were visiting the family!"

Sano grinned at Soujiro. "That's perfect. After a round of pick-up baseball you got beamed and now have a shiner to commemorate the experience."

"And after a few days at Shinomori's, Kaoru can then return with an arsenal of make up to hide whatever is left of the black eye," Kamatari contributed.

Sano rubbed his sore jaw, Saitou gave as good as he got. "I don't much like the idea of you being at Shinomori's but I'll trust Himura to keep you out of trouble."

Kaoru didn't like the idea of running away. She wasted years of her life after the attack running away from life and she wasn't about to repeat that process. "Or we could just use make-up to conceal the bruise when I'm in the Ru guise and I'll just stay here and steer clear of Saitou."

"Kaoru, I don't think that's a good idea," Sano said blowing out a frustrated breath. "I don't like you at Shinomori's but I think we're all agreed it would be for the best."

"We're not all agreed that it's for the best," Soujiro said with his brow furrowed and a frown. It wasn't that he didn't like Shinomori, but there was something about the man that bothered him. He really didn't want Kaoru depending on him and wanted to involve him as little as possible. "I don't think we should do anything too drastic."

"We could ride it out," Kamatari chimed in. "Please, Kaoru, don't leave me stuck in the middle between Saitou and Tokio. I barely survived the first time!"

"Did you guys not hear a thing I said? Saitou practically molested her in the barn!" Sano roared.

"That's the big brother in you, Sanosuke," Kamatari said standing and giving Sano a consoling pat on the shoulder. The tall cowboy glowered at him, but Tari ignored the hostility and turned back to Kaoru. "I've got some excellent mud-mask material. Why don't you take a nice bubble bath and let the mask do it's miracles to help prevent that bruise."

"I would like a bubble bath," Kaoru said with a wistful sigh. "And if you've any Arnica to help with the bruise that would would be good too."

"Coming right up, Kaoru," Kamatari said. "Come on boys, let's leave her be for a bit. She doesn't need three knights in shining armor hovering!"

**OoO**

Saitou ran his fingers through his sweaty hair. He needed a cold shower in more ways than one. It had been a while since he's used his own bathroom since that she-devil had moved into Tokio's old room. But right now he really needed his high-powered luxury shower to clean off the grime of both the dirt he'd picked up and of the nature of his recent thoughts.

After everyone left him dumbfounded in the barn he'd decided to engage in some manual labor to distract himself from whatever the hell had just happened. Last night and that morning had both shown him a side of Kaoru he'd never bothered to allow himself to see past his hate-fogged lenses, unlike the rose-colored lenses other people were rumored to see the world through.

He'd spent an hour mucking out the stalls and feeding several of his horses. He'd have done more but Soujiro had ventured out into the barn. There was a dark look in the generally jovial young man's eye, but his smile was friendly. He'd taken the bucket of feed and relieved Saitou of his tasks saying it wasn't something the Boss should do.

And that was why an hour after the incident in the barn Saitou had gone into the house intent on taking the longest shower of his life. He left his muddy boots by the front door and went up the stairs. The house was silent as a tomb and Saitou hoped that meant he was alone within the walls. He stripped out of his filthy clothes and dropped them in the small basket he left in the corner of his bedroom. In his closet he had two towels so he took one and wrapped it around his lean waist.

His waterproof headphone and IPOD set were on his dresser so he picked them up, plugged his ears and turned up the volume to a loud rendition of Brad Paisley's "Topsoil" song. The lyrics pretty much covered how he felt.

He started to mutter the words along to the song, 'There's two feet of topsoil, a little bit of bedrock, limestone in between, fossilized dinosaur, a little bit of crude oil, and a thousand feet of granite underneath...and then there's me." He unlocked the door to the bathroom and stepped inside.

And he couldn't have picked the worse moment.

"What are you doing in here!"

In spite of his headphones blaring he could hear Kaoru's screech quite distinctly. That didn't mean his brain was in the process of responding to the words because his brain had no blood supply thanks to the sensory over-load of his eyes. The moment he'd walked into the bathroom was the exact moment that Kaoru had stood from what appeared to be a bubble bath. Soap suds covered her curvaceous naked body and it was only after about what seemed like an eternity that she had the presence of mind to sit back down to hide under the bubbly mess.

Still, no words of apology formed on Saitou's lips though he knew they were expected. It wasn't until a bar of soap came shooting toward his head that he snapped out of his trance. He ducked away from the projectile. And still no words of apology came.

"Why do you have mud on your face?" he found himself asking.

"Get out of here you pervert!"

Saitou's brain started to work once again and he retreated to the safety of his own room. His back hit against the closed door with a heavy thud and he found it difficult to catch his breath. Perhaps his years of smoking had finally caught up to him and he was having heart attack. "I'd say I'm lower than you, Brad," he said shutting off his music. He took off down the hall for the other bathroom. Now he really needed a cold shower!

**OoO**

Saitou crushed the empty cigarette package in his hand before tossing it in the waste basket beside his desk. He simply couldn't get the woman out of his mind. The saying 'out of sight, out of mind' was complete rubbish. The bathroom incident coupled with the barn incident made it absolutely impossible to not think about Kaoru.

After he'd taken his cold shower he'd gone out of the house and took one of the horses on a run. He'd spent two hours about his lands checking the fencing and on his cattle. It was hard to focus on whether or not the barbed wire was looking rusty when all he wanted to do was find Kaoru and explore the innermost part of her mouth under the big shade tree twenty yards in front of him. He wasn't going to be able to function in his current condition so he decided to head back to the house and have it out in an awkward confrontation. He'd need to set down some guidelines so that they could properly avoid one another. He'd stay out of her way if she stayed out of his.

Saitou returned to the house just in time to see the tail lights of Himura's truck driving away with Kaoru in the passenger seat. He should be grateful that she was gone. She was a walking sin waiting to tempt him. He was nearly eight years her senior and a lifetime older than her in life experience. And besides, he didn't even like her. She wasn't his type. Of course, that hadn't seemed to matter when he held her in his arms, and….damn it. He was working himself up just thinking about her. That memory was going to cause him to stay up late at night.

And then there was the whole deal with his ex-wife. As if he needed any more women to muddle up his life! But he couldn't turn his back on her, her situation, once she explained it to him was too desperate to ignore. It seemed that her currently estranged husband, Shishio, had involved himself with some powerful drug lords just south of the border. There was now a contract on both Shishio and his wife's head. No matter how Tokio had betrayed him in the past, he couldn't leave her to such a dire fate.

She had come to him, her ex-husband; because she believed he was the only one who could protect her. Saitou wasn't about to admit that such a remark did wonders for his ego. He also found a sick sort of glee in the fact that she was jealous of Kaoru.

Kaoru!

Damn it!

Now the little witch was over at Shinomori's. He should have been glad to finally have her off his hands. He didn't need another complication.

**OoO**

Kaoru sat back in the passenger seat of Kenshin's truck. It took surprisingly little time to pack up all her belongings. It helped that Kamatari had heard the screaming from the laundry room down the hall. He promised to not tell either Sano or Soujiro what had happened in the bathroom. She couldn't stay in the house any longer and she wouldn't dare jeopardize Sanosuke's job as foreman..

She couldn't deny that Hajime Saitou was an attractive man. That was made even more evident when she could see the well-defined muscular body clad only in a skimpy white towel haphazardly wrapped around his waist. It had been unfortunate that he'd been privy to such an eyeful of her at the same time.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Kenshin asked gently glancing over at her as he drove cautiously toward the Black Snake Ranch.

"Not especially," Kaoru answered picking at the mud that was caked under her nails. She'd been in a hurry to remove the mud-mask. "I just decided that I'd like to take Aoshi up on the offer. It would be foolish of me to waste the opportunity to gain such useful experience."

"Uh huh. And that shiner that's forming on your pretty face?"

It was too much and Kenshin's question caused the damn to break and the tears she'd been fighting flowed freely. Kaoru buried her face in her hands. "Your sister gave it to me when she caught Saitou kissing me in the barn. And then a few hours later he walked in on me while I was having a bath. I can't stay there! Sano will murder the man!"

Kenshin was quiet as he pulled his truck into the garage at the Black Snake Ranch. "Well, we can't have your brother murdering his boss, now can we?" He parked the truck and cut off the engine. "Miss Kaoru, Mister Shinomori won't be back until the end of the week, but I called him as soon as you called the house and he says you can stay as long as you like. We've got so many guest rooms its no imposition at all, you understand?"

Kaoru nodded. "You and Aoshi are very generous."

"Nothing generous about it, Miss Kaoru. My ever intelligent boss intends to use that brain of yours. You'll be meeting with the manager of his ranch this afternoon so you had best put fresh batteries in that calculator of yours!"

The idea of doing accounting, keeping a ledger, and evaluating the animal stock was right along the lines of Kaoru's dream job description. She'd still do her role as Ru, she loved being with the horses and watching the cattle, but there was no reason why she couldn't do both.

"When's Ru due back at the ranch?" Kenshin asked taking hold of two her bags while she grabbed the third. They walked toward the ranch house together.

"On Tuesday. He's got Sundays and Mondays off."

"Good, then you have all afternoon for your crash course in the finer managerial points of a ranch."

"Kenshin?"

"Yes?"

"Won't Aoshi's manager be upset to be teaching me these things? Won't it make his worry about the security of his position?"

"He's looking for a replacement, Miss Kaoru. Old Bill is ready to retire and move to those sunny beaches in Florida within the next year. He's going to adore you."

**OoO**

It had been two days since Kaoru had left his ranch. He should have been grateful for her absence because it simplified many unnecessary complications. His foreman wasn't talking to him anymore unless it was work related. Sano kept their conversations brief and to the point. He couldn't understand the accusation in Kamatari's eyes, but he hardly ever understood his temperamental cook's feelings.

Saitou looked down at his watch. Ru should be returning any minute now from visiting with his family. The knock on his office door verified the timing. If anything, that boy was punctual and efficient.

"Come in," Saitou called as he pushed around his ledgers in front of him on his desk to appear busy. He had an image to uphold after all. Ru stepped through the door and the vision shattered. "Good grief son! What the hell did you do to yourself?" Saitou demanded as he rounded his desk and tilted the young man's face back to look at the nasty black eye.

"Ah," Ru began, doing her best to act manly. "A little bit of pick-up ball." She lifted one corner of her mouth into a sneer. "I got a home-run the first time up to bat and the second, well; at least I scored after they walked me for this."

Saitou dropped his hands from the youth's face, finding something odd about him. He didn't much care for the charged energy he was feeling around the lad. It was a bit too familiar to the insanity he had engaged in with Kaoru that self-same afternoon. "I didn't realize you were into baseball."

Kaoru shrugged her shoulders. "Ru Seta was a shortstop all through high school," she answered with a sense of pride twinkling in her eyes. She had never played baseball in her life, but Kenshin had helped her rehearse her responses that afternoon after Bill had gone home for the day and a long-distance call with Aoshi. The latter had called to say he was returning from his trip early.

"Most 'round here seem to favor football," Saitou commented. He looked behind him at the calendar tacked on the wall. Baseball season would be starting full swing into the play offs and the local boys were heavily favored. "Why don't you and I go to the next home game?"

"Home game?" Kaoru echoed surprised.

"Yeah," Saitou stepped back towards his desk and picked up the telephone. He would call for tickets now while he was thinking about it. "I'll need to get away from this place and would appreciate someone who liked the game to watch it with. And since you're the only one on my ranch that doesn't want to punch me in the face you seem the best candidate."

Kaoru's mouth fell open then shut firmly. What was she to do here? "I appreciate the offer sir, but I really can't accept. It's not right. I don't want the others to think I'm taking advantage."

Saitou ignored the protest as he ordered two tickets for two weekends away. "It's already done." Saitou leaned back in his chair and eyed the boy. "You've been a real asset on this ranch son, with all the insanity I've been having to deal with, especially regarding women, it's nice to have you around."

Kaoru shuffled her feet, itching to run away as soon as possible. "Well, thank you, sir. I appreciate your saying so. This job really does mean a lot to me."

"Oh and for God's sake wear a t-shirt or a baseball jersey. I don't want people to think you always dress like an impoverished ranch hand."

**OoO**

Later that night, Aoshi sat across from Kaoru on his back porch. Calmly, he set his cup of tea onto the side table and frowned at what she was telling him. "So he's taking Ru to a baseball game in two weeks," he clarified.

"I'm sure my eye will be fine by then," Kaoru replied, thinking that was where his thoughts had drifted.

Aoshi leaned back and closed his eyes to think. He hadn't cared for the news of what happened over the weekend. He felt a powerless rage at knowing that Saitou had man-handled the woman he was attempting to court and while he might not have been directly responsible for Kaoru's shiner he was guilty by association. Aoshi knew that nothing could ever really come of things between Kaoru and himself, but that didn't mean Saitou could have her. The man was old enough to be her father practically--though technically he was only a year or two older than Aoshi he had one of those old souls.

He could hear Kaoru fidgeting a clear sign of her indecision and anxiety. "I don't see why you can't just work for me full time," Aoshi finally spoke after a few moments of silence passed.

Kaoru sighed in frustration. "It's complicated," she muttered. Surely it was. She had worked for Saitou first and that was where her loyalty lay. Even if the man was unaware exactly who she was, she could not betray an employer.

"You make it more complicated than it needs to be." Aoshi reached out and took Kaoru's hands within his own. He gently ran his thumbs over the back of her hands. "You can work for me without any pretenses. I have no problems hiring women. Of course, I wouldn't want you in the fields."

Kaoru jerked her hands out of his with narrowed eyes. "I'm perfectly capable of working the field."

"Certainly, but your talents are wasted when you've a mind to do more," he argued. "Bill has only spent two days with you and he says you're sharp." Aoshi had been thinking of ways to get Kaoru back into her graduate program. She only lacked a few hours for her business degree and there might be a way to accomplish the necessary credit via an internship. He truly liked the woman, her brother too. He had already called the banks to see what would need to be done for him to absorb the debts of their father that very afternoon. As he unraveled the story using his contacts he was discovering more things about Kaoru's father that he doubted even she knew and there was no way he would allow her to fall behind on her payments. To fall behind would lead to a fate worse than her father's from what he had discovered.

This was all unbeknownst to the siblings of course. Kaoru's twisted relationship with Saitou was greatly unhealthy. He knew good and well that Saitou was attracted to Kaoru and most likely she found something in him, even if it was all subconscious thought. If he could help Kaoru in any way he would find a way. Mostly, he wanted to keep her in his life. It was selfish on his part, as he would never allow himself to marry. However, he wanted to have someone like Kaoru around. She brought joy into his otherwise boring lifestyle. She broke the monotony. And if he was to marry someone, it would be someone like her.

"So, what am I going to do during the baseball game about--," Kaoru paused to try to explain her fears. She gestured to her breasts, causing a grin to split Aoshi's lips.

"What will you do about your feminine assets?" He supplied for her. Exacerbated, Kaoru nodded. "You'll have to bind them and use a very tight sports-bra no doubt. Also, be certain to wear a baseball cap that can hide all that hair." He reached over and tugged gently on the dark locks.

From the doorway, Kenshin watched his boss and Kaoru chatting on the back porch. It was a sight that warmed his heart. He wanted to tell Kaoru and Soujiro about what he had discovered about their heritage. Kaoru living at the ranch now would certainly make that easier, or at least it should.

He was glad that Aoshi hadn't seen Kaoru on Sunday morning. If he had seen the evidence Saitou had left upon Kaoru the boss would have been livid. Rarely had Kenshin seen a woman so thoroughly possessed that her lips were still swollen two hours after the event.

Kenshin also knew the secret his boss carried. And it broke his heart just a little to see how easily the man could love Kaoru. He would never marry because he wouldn't be able to hurt the woman he loved. Aoshi had told him before that if he couldn't give a woman his children then he didn't want to rob them of that experience. There would be a better suited husband for her elsewhere. One that didn't have a genetic disorder.

Frankly, Kenshin felt he was holding too many secrets lately.

Kenshin cleared his throat, announcing his presence. Kaoru looked back at him with a friendly smile and Aoshi had a look of contentment to his eyes. Kenshin smiled back at them in greeting. Who knows? Perhaps Kaoru could convince Aoshi to change his mind about the matter. Any happiness was better than no happiness.

_Edited 2/26/10_


	12. Chapter Twelve

_(A/N: Ohayo! Here's the new chapter. I hope it is to everyone's liking. It was a beast to write, and was re-written at least 5 times over the last month. I just couldn't get it right. That's one of the reasons why it's late. The other is... I lost my beloved cat. She was 19 years old and the grief has really been hard to work around. My creativity pool is a little dry. So, if the chapter is not quite up to par, you have my deepest apologies. God Bless, Kanzen ne Tsuki)_

**Chapter Twelve**

Kaoru stayed at the Black Snakefor a week, or rather seven nights as she spent most of the daylight hours at the Star S Ranch under the guise of Ru. That was how long it took before the bruise around her eye faded enough for make-up to cover it adequately. Otherwise, there would have been just too many questions to try and answer, and neither she nor her partners in crime wanted to deal with those. She might have stayed at the Black Snake longer if Sano hadn't come by one evening after work and pleaded that she return.

While in the company of the dark, blue-eyed rancher, Aoshi Shinomori, she learned that he was not only a gentleman to a fault, but he was a generous host and becoming an invaluable friend. At the very least, she knew if 'Ru's' identity was discovered and Saitou threw her off the Ranch, she would have somewhere to go. Aoshi and Kenshin had both told her that. What a couple of interesting fellows they made. Kenshin was starting to effect her a lot like Sano did only he didn't irritate her quite as much. Rather, he was a much calmer more level headed version of a brother and she was getting to the point that having him around was comforting to her.

Then there was Soujiro. The baby-faced cowboy who was parading as her brother. She could feel herself growing closer to him every moment they spent together. There was just something about him that pulled her to him. It felt totally natural to sit and talk, joke, and harass just like he was a real member of the family. Sometimes, she felt like she'd known him all her life, and was even more inclined to confide in him than Sanosuke. She decided it was because they were so close in age and similar in personality.

She was downstairs in the main house at Saitou's ranch peering at herself in a mirror when the baby-faced cowboy in question caught her just after returning from Aoshi's.

"Careful, look too hard and it might break, you know."

"Hey, that's not nice." She glared at him. "Can you see it?" Her fingers touched the delicate tissues beneath her eye where the bruise had been. "Is it noticeable?"

"Hmmm," Soujiro moved to stand beside her and considered her pretty features as they reflected back beside his own. "No, can't say that it is. Of course, you do look like a floosey with all that make-up on." He grinned.

"I do not!" Her elbow found his ribs and he grunted. "All it is is foundation and powder. What else am I going to cover it up with?"

"Dark glasses? I don't know." He laughed and hugged her. "Seriously, it looks fine. You can hardly tell. It's nothing like Tokio's nose."

"You're sure?"

"Yes, I promise. No one will even know."

"You better be right, Sou. If someone spots it, I'm blaming it on you."

"Would I lie to you?" He laughed again and led her toward the kitchen. "Come on, Tari's looking for you. Something about helping him with dinner."

"Oh God..."

Dinner was a slow-cooked pot-roast with baby carrots and stewed potatoes. A green salad with Italian dressing on the side and peach cobbler for dessert.

Since Kaoru was back, and almost everyone knew about it, Ru had to do another disappearing act. When Saitou queried to Soujiro where the young man was, his quick reply came back without any hesitation.

"He was having some double vision and a headache today. Dad thought he needed to go see the doctor, so he took him to the hospital just to get him checked out. He says it was probably just the heat and all. I've been trying to get Ru to carry more water with him, maybe this will convince him to listen to me."

"You mean you think he got dehydrated out there?" Saitou leaned forward, concern clear in his voice. "You kids know better than to let shit like that happen. Soujiro, I'm making you personally responsible for making sure that brother of yours has at least two full water bottles on him at all times when your out in the field. Understood?"

"Oh, Yes sir. I already warned him today about that, and he agreed...reluctantly. He's stubborn, you know. Like all the Seta's." Soujiro grinned to himself. Not a bad lie for spur of the moment.

"Obviously, but I won't have him getting seriously ill out in the middle of the range. If I have to threaten the boy myself, I will."

"Not necessary, sir. I'll take care of it."

"See that you do."

Sano grinned behind his hand as he shoveled food into his mouth. At least this time he got left out of the interrogation and the old man even seemed to forget that it was _his _ultimate responsibility as foreman to make sure the men took care of themselves out in the field. But considering he was still fumed over the way Saitou had man-handled Kaoru, it was just as well that the Rancher address him as little as possible. As it was, the two men were dancing circles around each other anyway. Neither seemed prepared to approach the subject of the ebon-haired girl.

In the kitchen, Kaoru was groaning and thumping her forehead on the small table she shared with Kamatari. As if Saitou didn't have his nose far enough up Ru's butt as it was, now he would be watching the boy for health issues.

"Thanks, Sou." she muttered, glowering at the swinging doors. "Thanks for nothing. Dammit!"

"Oh, now Kaoru. It's not that bad." Tari patted the girl's shoulder. "At least the Boss is worried about the boy's welfare. It could be worse, you know."

"How?" Kaoru looked up into the smiling face. "I really don't see how?"

"He could have as much trouble dealing with Ru as he does with you and then you'd be getting it from both ends, hmm?"

"Arrrgh," Kaoru dropped her head on the table. "I didn't think of that. Thanks, you just made my day." The thought of having Saitou chewing up Ru the same way he did her...well that was just plain unpleasant, but then again, the last time she saw Saitou neither of them were doing any chewing except on each others bottom lips and then there was the bathtub incident. Heat and embarrassment flooded through her at the same time and she felt her face grow uncomfortably warm.

'_You promised yourself you weren't going to think about that.' _Foolishly she believed spending every day in the fields and every night at Aoshi's for the past week would keep her far enough away from the golden eyed terror that had set her blood on fire with one kiss, that she would be able to push him and the kiss out of her mind. She was wrong. The moment _Kaoru _returned to the _Star_ every minuscule second of that torrid event came rushing back. It didn't help that one of the first places she wanted to go was the stable. She wanted to see _Exitor._

Standing outside the big horse's stall was not the usual exhilarating experience, instead all it did was bring the memory of Saitou's mouth burning into hers slamming back along with the undeniable assurance that he had kissed her more thoroughly than she had ever been kissed before, but then again she did make it a point to avoid being kissed. An image of herself sandwiched between the exterior wall of the stall and Saitou's hard body with her legs wrapped tightly around his waist flashed through her mind and she turned, running back to the house where she stayed in her room until dinner.

The fight with Tokio and her brother's anger didn't even make the top ten on her anxiety list. Now, as she sat with her head pillowed on the small kitchen table, the deep baritone of her boss's voice drifted in from the dining room. Kaoru closed her eyes and prayed he would stay out there because so far, she'd been lucky. She hadn't run into him since coming back as herself. Hopefully that luck would hold out for awhile longer.

Unfortunately, luck was not one of Kaoru's strong suits.

"Kamatari?" The broad shoulders burst through the swinging doors in a flurry of black shirt and grey trousers. "We need more meat and vegetables out here. What you laid out is already gone. I guess everyone is starved."

"Be right out, Boss." The thin man jumped up and proceeded to dump steaming food onto clean platters, humming as he went and completely oblivious at the moment to the rise in tension behind him.

Kaoru's head had shot up from the table the minute Saitou opened his mouth, and now that he stopped talking, their eyes were locked together and the two of them were wordlessly sizing each other up. Heat boiled in the atmosphere as her breathing escalated to a swift, shallow pace and his heart began beating a feverish tattoo inside his chest.

"I heard you were back from Shinomori's." Saitou's voice was low and tight, a muscle started to tic in his cheek. "Did you enjoy your...stay?"

"I...I guess I did." Mentally she slapped herself for sounding so stupid. _'What kind of lame answer was that?'_ "Has that rabid, she-dog of yours calmed down, or do I have to watch out for knives in my back?" It was a nasty hit below the belt and she knew it, but she hated the fact that he was making her feel like her knees were made of water. She was a strong, intelligent woman. Didn't everyone over at the Black Snake say so? This was Saitou, for God's sake! He wasn't supposed to be able to do that. She didn't even like him... did she?

"_My she-dog_?" he asked, raising a thin eyebrow in disapproval over her choice of words. "I wouldn't know. She seems to have set her sites on your brother, although, I think she's doing it in some stupid attempt to try and make me jealous."

"Are you?"

"Am I what?"

"Jealous?"

"Not in the least." he shrugged and turned to accept the full platters of food from an overly quiet Kamatari. "I lost interest in that activity a long time ago. Why do you ask?"

"No reason." Kaoru was finally able to look away and chose to study her fingernails. Why did she ask? It wasn't like she cared if he was jealous over what that bitch did... was she?

"However, I did take the liberty of telling her to stay away from you once you came back. I hope you don't mind. I would also suggest that you do your best to stay away for her as well. Perhaps we can avoid any further violence between the two of you in the future. Yes?"

"Sure," she mumbled, ignoring him as best she could, refusing to look at him again. The emotions those golden eyes were pulling out of her were just too confusing.

"And just to set the record straight." He waited until she looked up. "She isn't _my _she-dog anymore."

Kaoru just stared at him, trying to understand just exactly what he was getting at but his face was completely impassive. It told her nothing. Kamatari nervously cleared his throat and the spell binding her to Saitou's eyes was broken. She looked away and nodded not knowing what else to do.

The 'thump-thump' of the swinging doors told her when he left, and she let out a long sigh of relief. Not exactly the meeting she had planned on, especially since she wanted to avoid him, but it was better than him biting her head off.

Just barely. A nice Saitou was even more confusing than a mean one. Maybe he developed a conscience sometime between the time he caught her in the bathtub and now.

Later, Kaoru tossed in her bed, rolling from one side to the other and then finally threw the covers off in frustration. Casting a blood-shot eye at the digital clock on her bed stand, she saw that is was just after two in the morning. It was too damn hot to sleep. Getting out of bed, she plodded over to the window and unlocked the latch, pushing the pane open and sighing when the cool breeze blew over her sweat damp skin. She wondered how people lived here year round in this unbearable heat. It was tempting at this point to sleep outside with the lizards and cactus finches.

Instead of going outside, she opted for a glass of ice water. It was so late, she figured no one would be up but her so she left her robe behind and flitted through the pale dark in nothing but her flimsy nightgown. The knee length white silk clung to her curves like a second skin, the thin straps barely keeping it in place. She looked like a ghost passing through the shadows. Had it been six months ago her nightclothes would have consisted of an oversized t-shirt and sweat pants, but lately she'd been more confident in her femininity. Perhaps it was a result of spending half her time as a boy she needed the reminder that she was indeed woman.

It wasn't hard to find the kitchen, even in the dark. She'd been there so many times, and the layout of the ranch house was so simple. Down the stairs, turn right through the entryway, cross the dining room to reach the swinging doors. Go in and the light switch was on the left. Glasses were in the cupboard on the right of the sink, and the ice-maker was part of the refrigerator door along with the filtered water. Cool set up.

She was done and on her way back to her room with her water in less than three minutes. Only this time, her shadow was not the only one crossing the dining room. As she reached the foot of the stairs, a hand reached out and grabbed her from behind.

Terror, cold and numbing streaked through her bloodstream and froze her nervous system. She felt the water glass slip from her hand, heard it hit the floor with a dull 'thud', and then she was being pulled back into the iron bands of two very strong arms. Her voice failed her as a lump of fear the size of a grapefruit clogged her throat, and all she could think of was someone had broken into the house and she had surprised him. Then her brain clicked 'on' and the frenzy started as it dumped an overload of adrenalin into her system.

Kaoru opened her mouth, taking in a great gulp of air, preparing to scream the walls down, but a large hand clamped down across her lips effectively silencing any noise she might have made. Then she was crushed against a hard, broad chest and dragged passed the stairs and down the dim hallway leading to the back of the house.

'_Oh God,' _her mind was sobbing in terror as she struggled against her assailant. _'I'm going to die...Help! Somebody... Sait...'_

Suddenly she was roughly thrown through an open door where she stumbled in the dark, landing unceremoniously on her hands and knees. Then the room was flooded with light and she flipped over onto her rearend to face her attacker. It was not what she expected.

"Saitou?" She screeched, clamoring to her feet in a very undignified fashion. "What the hell do you think you're doing? You scared the hell out of me." His desk was behind her and she sagged back against it. He'd tossed her into his office.

"What the hell am I doing?" He stormed, closing the door behind him, his face a mask of furious indignation. "What the hell are YOU doing? Traipsing around the house in the middle of the night like some fucking burglar. You're lucky I didn't blow your head off when I saw you sneaking around. For God's sake, what's the matter with you?"

"What's the matter with me? I was getting a glass of water, you brainless ass." Her eyes blazed blue fire at him as she pushed herself off the desk and stomped over to him. "You know, water? The stuff you drink when you get hot and thirsty?"

"Don't patronize me, little girl. I'm mad enough already."

"You're mad? How do you think I feel?" Her nose was about two inches away from his. "I come downstairs to get a drink because it's so bloody hot in my room I can't sleep, and what happens? I get molested by a crazy old man who can't tell the difference between one of his house guests and an intruder."

"Molested?" He roared, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "Girl you don't know what molested is if you think that's what just went on."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, really."

"Well you could have fooled me. Grabbing me in the dark like you did. How was I to know YOU weren't the intruder and you were planning on doing terrible things to me? Huh? Answer that Mr. Know-it-all." Her finger poked him in the chest, emphasizing each word. "And stop calling me girl!"

"Well, if I had been an intruder, you wouldn't have stood much of a chance running around in this little number." He said, flipping one of the straps on her nightgown. "Don't you have any modesty at all? You're on a ranch full of men. Don't you know if you parade around half naked like this, you're bound to cause problems? Is this what you did at Shinomori's?"

"Half-naked!" She raged, shoving her nose further up into his face. "I am not half-naked. Besides, it's two o'clock in the morning. No one is supposed to be up..."

"I'm up!" He shouted, grabbing her by the shoulders and glaring molten fury into her flushed face. "And you look pretty fucking naked to me."

"I..." Kaoru's tongue suddenly turned to lead in her mouth. He was so close she could see the individual golden flecks dotting his amber irises, she could smell the faint aroma of his last cigarette still clinging to his black shirt, and she could feel the heat of his breath fanning her face. _'Say something...' _Her voice was screaming in her head but she couldn't seem to make a single sound. Just like before, she felt trapped and hypnotized at the time. _'I can't breath...Oh God, is he going to kiss me again? Saitou?'_

"Fucking hell," he muttered between gritted teeth as he watched her eyes go from glittering anger to smoldering desire. "You're going to drive me insane."

"M-me?" She stammered, her hands turning to rest flat on his chest. The thundering beat of his heart slammed against her palms and her eyes fell to watch the leaping pulse in his throat. "How am I going to drive you insane? I didn't do anything? Did I?" She asked, looking back up into his tight features.

The look in her eyes, the way her lips pouted, and the flush on her cheeks; it was too much for one man to resist. Cursing and growling under his breath, Saitou crushed the girl against his chest, seizing those tender lips in a hard, hungry kiss, bruising them. For a moment she stood stiff in his embrace, and then, like pudding sliding into a mold, she melted into him, her jaw dropping while her hands fisted in the front of his shirt.

A low groan of passion and need crawled up Saitou's throat as he splayed his hands out over the slender curves of her back, pulling her into him and erasing all empty space between their bodies. Kaoru moaned beneath his kiss and reached behind him to curl her arms around his shoulders, flattening her breasts and stomach against his unyielding planes.

Their tongues slipped free and started a duel of heat and hunger, and he lifted his hand to cup the back of her head, deepening the kiss. She shuddered and opened her mouth wide, letting him in to explore the moistness of her. He eagerly accepted her invitation, running his tongue over her teeth, along the roof of her mouth, and across the slithering muscle of her own tongue which rose to curl around his. It was the most devastating kiss he'd ever shared with a woman, and his sense of control was quickly disintegrating into a pile of useless rubble.

His free hand slid from her waist to caress the smooth roundness of her butt, urging her into the hardened heat of his need, and she whimpered, digging her nails into his back. He squeezed and then lifted his hand to palm her breast. She was beautiful. More beautiful than he'd ever imagined, and the urge to possess her was overwhelming.

With a groan, Saitou lifted her up against him, cupping her rear in both hands. Her legs were around his waist again, her head dropped back exposing her throat, and he burrowed into the succulent flesh. Three steps carried them to his desk where he bent over and laid her down, sliding both hands up the underside of her exposed thighs.

"Kaoru," he groaned, pulling her hips against him as he trailed fire up her cheek and back to her mouth. "Dear God. I... I want..." His hands palmed her breasts again and she arched up into him, her legs pulling him into her. Through the silk of her nightgown, he rolled her delicate nipples between his fingers, shuddering as they turned to hard pebbles beneath his touch. She was like a burning flame under his hands, and Saitou felt himself teetering on the edge of the abyss. His tongue was in her mouth again, and she was meeting him stroke for stroke. No woman in his life had ever effected him this way, not even...

Suddenly he stopped. His logical hindbrain was screaming at him and he shook his head trying to clear it enough to understand. This was no woman he was holding in his arms. This was a girl. For the love of Pete, he was almost a decade older than her!

Saitou slammed his ardor under an iron fist and began to deliberately remove himself from the wild entanglement that was Kaoru. Stepping away several paces, he ran a shaking hand through his hair and tried to calm his erratic breathing. He had to stop this now. It was wrong on so many levels; he didn't even want to think about it.

"Get up," he muttered. "Go back to bed."

"Wh-what?" Kaoru sat up, drawing her knees together, feeling suddenly very exposed and unsure of herself. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Just do what I told you to, girl. Go back to bed. It's late. I have to get up early and I can't be playing around down here with you all night."

Kaoru felt a stab of pain pierce through her and slipped off the desk to unsteady legs. It had been years since she'd allowed a man to kiss her like that. She didn't appreciate being blown off either. "Did... did I do something wrong?"

"No, I just don't need this right now." He swung around and looked at her with hard eyes. "I have a business to run, responsibilities to take care of. I don't need another complication in my life like a half-grown kid hanging all over me, wanting my undivided attention."

"Half-grown kid?" Her eyes went wide with indignant pain. "How dare you! I am not a kid." Tears were threatening but she blinked them back. "And I am not some complication that you need to worry about. So don't concern yourself, _Mr. _Saitou. I'll do my best to stay out of your way and hopefully we'll be able to completely avoid each other in the future. I'd hate to take up anymore of your precious time."

As she stormed past him, heading for the door, Saitou reached out and grabbed her arm. "I never said that," he bit out. "I just don't think it's a good idea to start something neither of us really wants."

"Fine," she spat, yanking her arm out of his grasp. "Then do me a favor."

"What?" Somehow he had a feeling he'd just chopped off his own nose.

"Stay away from me, and don't you ever touch me again, or I'll tell my brother and you can deal with him." Pain filled blue eyes met and locked with shuttered gold and the two stood staring at each other for several long seconds. Then Saitou stepped back.

"Fine. Consider it done. As far as I'm concerned, you don't exist. Fair enough?"

"Fair enough." She pulled the door open and ran up the hallway, sped up the stairs, and raced to her room. Once she was behind the door, Kaoru burst into tears. She's never felt so wretched in all her life. How could he have done what he did and then just stop? How? And why did he say all those horrible things after? Was she just a convenience that happened to pass by when he was in the need to live out a wet dream? If she lived to be a thousand, she knew she'd never understand that horrible man. Never.

Downstairs, in his office, Saitou poured himself a double shot of whiskey, swallowing it all at once. He winced, grimaced, and shuddered as it burned a pathway down his esophagus to his stomach. Then he shut his eyes and leaned on the desk. Sure, he was a hard ass. More so in the last years than ever before, but he'd never done anything like this.

It was as if in the week during her absence he'd been saving up all the misery he usually gave her and delivered it all in one cruel blow. He'd never deliberately hurt someone who'd done him no harm. But he knew it was for her own good. He was too fucking old, and it just wasn't right. Besides that, he didn't have time to fall in love, especially not with some wild-cat girl who threw insults like snowballs. She was more of a handful than he wanted to deal with.

So, if that was all true, why did he feel so empty?

_(A/N: Thank you to all the wonderful readers who keep Belle and I busy. God Bless. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Tsuki-san)_

_Edited: 2/26/10_


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Chapter Thirteen**

Saitou stared wearily up at his ceiling. It had been useless trying to sleep after his encounter with Kaoru. But he had to keep his distance; if he went to apologize for being so harsh he knew exactly what would happen next. With another woman, he probably wouldn't have minded, but Kaoru was innocent about a lot of things in life. His heart was already scarred. He refused to be responsible for scarring one as young and well, perfect as Kaoru. Okay, so she wasn't perfect, but her imperfections helped make her special.

He glanced at the alarm clock on his bedside table. It was still a quarter 'til five. In another fifteen minutes he could go upstairs and explain to her why it was such a bad idea. He didn't want to cause her any more tears, so surely if he calmly told her the way things had to be she wouldn't be so damaged by his seemingly brutal manner with her. But he had to talk to her. He couldn't risk her running away to Shinomori's again.

"Dammit!" He swore aloud, throwing the covers off him and beginning to pace. He glanced over at his clock every ten seconds, losing the battle with his patience. At five before five he had enough and headed for the young woman's room. He raised his fist to knock on the door, suddenly unsure of himself.

He closed his eyes and took a deep, supposedly calming breath. It didn't work. He knocked loudly on the door. There was no answer. He knocked once more. "I don't have time for this," he muttered under his breath and turned the knob, finding it unlocked. "Kaoru, I'm coming in," he warned.

The first thing he felt was panic. The room was empty. His first thought was that she had been kidnapped. Then it dawned on him that her bed was made and had not been slept in. He stormed towards her closet and threw open the doors. Only empty hangers remained. He began to growl lowly as he quickly made his way to Sanosuke's room at the end of the hall. It had been part of Sanosuke's demands that for Kaoru to return and that he be given a room in the house. The cowhands could take care of themselves, but he wasn't going to leave Kaoru alone in a den of snakes, as he'd put it. And Sanosuke had been resolute in wanting Kaoru back at the ranch whether Saitou wanted it or not.

He found the foreman sitting at his window, staring out at the sky. Sano ran a hand through his messy hair nervously when he heard his door slam open. He had been expecting the confrontation at any moment. However, he knew that Kaoru was best where she was at now even if he didn't like it much. There was no way he would agree to her coming back and dealing with his temperamental boss again.

"Where is she?"

Sano shrugged. "What do you care? She's not your concern, remember?" He asked, a cold look in his normally warm chocolate eyes.

Saitou gritted his teeth in anger. "Just tell me. I need to know."

"I really don't see it being any of your business where my sister went." Sano stood up abruptly and grabbed his cowboy hat, smashing it down over his unruly hair with a great deal of force. "I have a ranch to run. Yours, in fact."

After trying to count to ten and giving up after five, Saitou marched to the kitchen to find Kamatari. He knew where Kaoru would be. Sure enough, the man was stirring some pancake batter when Saitou pushed open the kitchen door, slamming it against the wall with enough force that a picture frame fell to the floor, shattering the glass.

"Good morning!" Kamatari replied cheerfully. "Pancakes should be ready in another ten minutes if you'd like to wait at the table," he offered.

"Is she at Shinomori's?" Saitou demanded. His gaze went out the kitchen window towards the pasture separating his land from his neighbor's. Aoshi was having far too much involvement in his affairs as it was; this was not something he wanted his rival to be mixed up with.

Kamatari didn't have time to respond, because Saitou rushed out of the kitchen and headed straight for his barn. He didn't even bother putting a saddle on his best horse. Ru had only broken her in about three weeks ago and the horse showed great potential.

Hajime stroked the horse's neck briefly before climbing onto her back. The horse accepted him; it seemed that she too wanted Kaoru back. "Let's go and bring her home, girl." Saitou stroked the mare's neck as she began to head out for Shinomori's ranch.

Kenshin was waiting for Saitou at the gate and silently allowed him entrance. The valiant red chestnut mare he was riding in on was traveling at breakneck speed. Kenshin tried to hide the concern he felt for the man. In Saitou's state of mind he probably didn't even realize how dangerous a trip it was that he had just made. And that state of mind could be described in one word.

Livid.

Saitou stormed right up to the front porch. He was surprised to find Soujiro answering it. "She's not here," Soujiro announced before Saitou could ask.

Amber eyes narrowed at the young man. "What?"

"Kaoru is not here," Soujiro answered again. He looked down at his watch, his usual smile absent from his features. "They left about four hours ago," he looked up and met the blank stare of his boss.

"Four hours ago?" Saitou echoed hollowly. He walked towards the front porch swing and fell heavily onto it. Five hours ago would put it almost immediately after their little encounter. Had he really scared her off? She couldn't really be gone. He looked up, glancing first at Kenshin, then Soujiro. The two stood side by side, looking at him in concern. "When will she be back?"

Kenshin cleared his throat. "She's not coming back. Mr. Shinomori has arranged for her to finish earning her degree."

"Her degree?"

"Yes, her Masters in Business degree that she was only one semester short of acquiring. Surely you knew," Soujiro stated. "It is to compliment the Bachelors she has in Accounting and Animal Science." Upon seeing Saitou's blank expression, Soujiro shook his head. "You didn't know?"

"Why would I know? I'm not a damned inquisitor!" Saitou roared, climbing to his feet. "Dammit! Where's Shinomori? I'm the one responsible for Kaoru, I'll be the one paying for her damnable college if that's what it takes! There's no need for her to run away just because we had a misunderstanding!"

Kenshin and Soujiro exchanged glances and silently mouthed 'responsible for?' "Mr. Shinomori is also gone. He has decided that since he is not required to be present for his ranch to operate smoothly that he shall attend to other matters," Kenshin explained, calmly crossing his arms over his chest. He observed Saitou carefully. The man was looking rather unstable. He was familiar with the feelings from his time before his careful anger management had taken root.

Amber eyes narrowed. "Convenient that he should leave as well."

"Indeed," Soujiro interjected. Kaoru had told them the whole sordid mess around two thirty that morning. She had burst into Kamatari's room. The cook had quickly held a mini-meeting, calling for both Sano and Soujiro. She had cried on Soujiro's shoulder for half an hour before she decided she needed to see Shinomori.

Aoshi had immediately taken her into his arms. Within the next twenty minutes everything was arranged, no matter that it was just before three in the morning. He made some calls and had it arranged for her to begin classes on Monday. His ability to do everything in the middle of the night with no hassle was only proof of his influence.

Saitou closed his eyes and counted to ten, this time succeeding in the calming technique. "I need to speak with her."

"I'm afraid that is impossible," Kenshin told him quietly. His amethyst eyes showed a sympathy that Saitou was growing to loath.

"And why is that?"

"Miss Kaoru does not wish to speak to you," Kenshin paused. "Ever again."

With a defeated look, Saitou stepped off the porch and walked towards his mare. He lightly laid his hand upon her neck and began walking beside her towards his pasture. It seemed he was no longer in any hurry.

Maybe if he talked to Ru he'd feel better about this disaster. That kid really knew how to make him feel less stressed. There was just some special quality about him that he couldn't quite put his finger on. They were supposed to see that baseball game later that day.

He looked around the stables for Ru, but didn't find him. That was odd. Normally the boy was the first one tending the horses. His search led him to Okita, who was speaking with Soujiro. Apparently the smiling cowboy decided to return soon after Saitou had.

"Where's Ru?" Saitou asked, making no effort to mask his desire to see the boy. "I need to speak to him."

Okita and Soujiro looked at one another then back at him. "He received a phone call yesterday evening." Okita smiled wide, like a proud uncle. "His scholarship for college was approved, so he left for the university!"

"Isn't that great?" Soujiro enthused. It was not the story he told Okita to give, but it would have to work for now.

"Just super," Saitou answered scowling. His life had suddenly fallen apart with the absence of those two. One the thorn in his heel and the other the ray of sunshine in an otherwise stormy sky. As he was walking back towards the backdoor he saw his ex-wife waiting for him. As if his day couldn't get any worse.

**OoO**

It was comfortable. That was the best word to describe the feeling Kaoru had for her new routine for the past eight weeks. Aoshi had taken her away from New Mexico and they were now living in a luxury, two-bedroom suite in a Californian luxury hotel. He knew of her family's debt and not only was he paying for her to finish her degree but she'd also been working for him on the side on little projects.

Apparently, Aoshi Shinomori was some to-do at the university she was attending and had arranged for her graduating thesis to be organizing certain things at his ranch. He'd also been in touch with a good friend of his that was involved in the C.I.A. investigating her father's death.

She looked across the breakfast table at the man that had become her guardian angel.

Aoshi was reading through a folder with his brow creased in concentration. He seemed to sense her gaze and met it with his own, offering one of his rare smiles before closing the folder and setting it aside. "How do you like the oatmeal?" he asked, curious. It was the first time he had ever tried to make oatmeal. It didn't seem too hard. All you really had to do was nuke the package in the microwave and add some water and butter then some milk and sugar.

"You should open your own oatmeal restaurant Mr. Shinomori." Kaoru smiled at him. Her heart skipped a beat at the sound of his laughter. He seemed to be doing that more every day. It seemed that life outside of the ranch suited him better than at the ranch. He was more of a board room executive than a rancher. Kaoru found herself wishing he were more of a rancher.

"How were your mid-term grades?" Aoshi inquired, after finishing his oatmeal. He set his spoon on the napkin beside his empty bowl, everything perfectly aligned. He was just, so perfect.

"They went well," Kaoru answered vaguely as she gathered their dishes and set them in the sink. She then turned around and smiled proudly. "All A's. It looks like I'll be graduating Cum Laude in two months at this rate. Unless that ornery rancher, Shinomori, doesn't give me a passing evaluation."

"I'm sure he'll give you flying colors." Aoshi stood from the table and walked towards her, taking her into his arms. Kaoru wrapped her arms tightly around his waist and buried her nose in his chest enjoying the strength she always found in him. "I'm so very proud of you," Aoshi murmured softly in her hair.

"I couldn't have done it without you," Kaoru told him, pulling back to look him in the face. Her expression was serious. "I owe this success to you."

"Nonsense," Aoshi admonished, releasing her completely and straightening his tie. He smiled at her, it was truly a beautiful, heart-melting smile, and it almost made Kaoru's heart melt. "I just gave you a chance." He looked down at his watch and frowned.

Kaoru immediately fretted. "I'm so sorry, now you're going to be late and it's all my fault!"

Aoshi reached across and gently grasped her shoulder. "It's most certainly not your fault. And besides, I own the company. They have to wait on me." He grabbed his suit jacket from the back of the couch and slid it on. "By the way, I was going to wait until dinner, but I think now would be a better time."

"What are you talking about?" Kaoru asked as she picked up her book bag, double checking that her finance homework was tucked safely away in her binder. She looked up and was surprised to find such a warm, genuine smile on Aoshi's face.

"I talked to my partners and they have agreed," Aoshi began. He was watching her carefully, and began to laugh as her brows predictably drew together in annoyance at his stalling. "You really must work on your patience, Kaoru," he admonished.

"You!" Kaoru drew out as she walked over toward him after shouldering her backpack. She punched him lightly on the arm, absently leaving it resting on his wrist. "Spit it out already!"

"I want to hire you after you graduate. Bill wants to pass on the reigns of management to you."

Kaoru blinked, stupefied at the offer. "But you've already done so much for me."

Aoshi reached down for Kaoru's hand that she had forgotten was still touching him. He lifted it to his lips and kissed her knuckles. "There is so much more that I want to do."

Kaoru tried to ignore the various hidden meanings that could go along with his last declaration. "Exactly what do you want me to do for your company? I know Bill is more than a simple accountant and manager of operations."

"I want you to be in charge of running the ranching portion focusing on the livestock and rodeo competitions." He released her hand then turned towards the door; he opened it and looked back at her over his shoulder. "Naturally I don't have any problems if you were to decide to take an active role of racing the horses if you should so desire. It will all be up to you, darling."

With those parting words, the door to their two bedroom luxury apartment was shut. Kaoru starred at it dumbfounded. Everything in her life just seemed to be fitting together perfectly now that she was no longer under the thumb of that Hajime Saitou.

She allowed her backpack to slip off her shoulders onto the floor before she sat heavily on the recliner. Why was it that she couldn't get that arrogant jerk off her mind? She couldn't help but wonder if he had reconciled with that horrible woman, his ex-wife. Kaoru shook her head, it wasn't her business.

Here she was living with the most eligible and sought after bachelor in all of the southwest. Why was she wasting her time thinking about a man who was too old for her and more importantly didn't want her.

Aoshi obviously cared a great deal for her and she cared for him. With him, everything was just so…comfortable.

She laid her head back and sighed a deep breath. It was then that she noticed the folder Aoshi had forgotten. She glanced down at her watch and saw she still had two hours before her first lecture. Maybe she should catch Aoshi and bring him the folder. It could have something important that he needed for his meeting.

With that in mind Kaoru reached over and took hold of the folder. She was a little curious so she opened it to have a peak.

That peak would change everything she thought she knew about her family.

It would seem that Aoshi's C.I.A. friend was exceptionally talented at his job. The folder was full of detailed articles about her father and more importantly her grandfather. She'd never met her grandparents on her father's side. They'd been dead long before she'd ever been born, or so she thought.

She recognized the picture of her grandparents because she'd seen it before in her father's study. The caption under the photograph was definitely unrecognizable. It was a photocopy of an article from a Tokyo newspaper involving the Kamiya couple at the opening of an art gallery. However, someone had written with red ink that the couple was under suspect of involvement with the Yakuza and Russian mafia.

The next sheet in the folder was the official police report on her father's murder. And right behind that was the police report on her attack. Kaoru's hands began to shake as she continued to read throughout the material.

She was still staring blankly at the copy of her police report when she heard the front door open. The next thing she knew Aoshi's strong hand had gently taken the papers out of her grip. He then pulled her to her feet and drew her into an all encompassing embrace as the tears began to fall.

Things weren't so comfortable anymore.

"Your meeting," Kaoru mumbled against his shirt.

"The meeting was with my friend in the C.I.A. His name is Hanya and he had a lead on your father's case."

"You can't waste all our time on me."

"I'm not. Trust me, my time is precious and there's nothing I'd rather be doing."

Kaoru pushed him away and searched his face. "Why? Why is it so important to you? What am I to you? We've been living together for two months and you've done nothing at all that would piss off Sanosuke. Why haven't you tried to sleep with me?"

Aoshi took Kaoru's hand and led her to the sitting area in the suite common area. He sat and pulled her onto his lap where he wrapped his arms around her and drew her close. "I would love to seduce you and make you fall in love with me, but I care too much about you to do that. Just let me help you, okay?"

"That's not an answer, Aoshi!"

"You want an answer?" Aoshi asked, his voice harsh and angry. His arms grew uncomfortably tight around her. "I have a genetic disorder. It's a predisposition that hits every male in my family where before the age of thirty-five I'll die because of a series of inoperable tumors in my brain. And I refuse to make anyone I love into a widow because I was selfish enough to take love and leave only grief."

"Aoshi?" Kaoru said gently as she lifted her face toward him. He looked down at her with a troubled expression. "Why don't you let me love you? Let me decide if a short amount of time of happiness is worth it."

Aoshi moved his hands to Kaoru's hips and moved her to sit on the couch next to him. He then stood and moved to face the window. His eyes were focused on the ocean view from their thirtieth story suite. "Your father was a good man, Kaoru. He came to America in his attempt to sever his ties with the underground network that his father was involved with. Unfortunately, it seemed like that network wasn't willing to lose him. I'm going to find your father's killer and I'm going to keep you alive." He turned back toward her and his expression was hard. "And you won't have to depend on anyone but yourself to keep you out of the red."

_Edited 2/26/10_


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Chapter Fourteen**

Sano closed the door behind him and looked imploringly at the dark haired woman who was presently bandaging up the arm of the old man who ran the cowboy clothing store down the street. There was a suturing kit on the medical stand to her side. "You've got to help me," he hissed holding the door firmly closed with his back pressed against it.

She glanced up toward him with a bland expression. "Do you have an appointment?"

"I'm being chased by my boss' ex-wife and she won't leave me alone. Please, uh," he paused and read the name tag on the front of her white doctor's coat. "Dr. Takani, you've got to help me!"

"This is a medical clinic. Unless you have a medical emergency I can't really help you," she explained. She ripped off a piece of medical tape and secured the last bit of bandage. "There you go, Mr. Okina, you're good as new," she said to her elderly patient with a friendly smile. She walked toward the sink and began to scrub her hands.

"Thank you so much, Dr. Megumi," Okina said with a bright rejoining smile. He turned toward Sanosuke. "Say, aren't you the foreman over at Saitou's ranch?"

Sano nodded his head and looked over his shoulder nervously through the window next to it for any sign of Tokio.

"Ah, you better help him Dr. Megumi. That Tokio is something."

"Kenshin's sister is the one hunting you down, Rooster head?" Megumi asked directing the question toward Sanosuke. He decided to not be offended by the Rooster head comment as it seemed she might be on the verge of helping him. He nodded in affirmation. "That changes things. I'm Megumi," she said extending her hand.

Sano took off his cowboy hat and shook her offered hand it. "Sano Sagara."

"You can take a seat if you want. There's no need to bar the door, Sano. I'll keep Tokio away from you," Megumi said with a foxy smile and a scheming twinkle to her dark eyes.

"Thanks, Fox, you're a real gem," Sano said with a sigh of relief as he moved toward one of the waiting room chairs. He set his cowboy hat on the empty chair to his right and tried to calm down his racing heart. He'd literally run away from Tokio when she spotted him in town a few minutes ago. The undershirt he wore beneath his red flannel was drenched in sweat from the effort. He lifted the material away from his skin to let the air-conditioning cool him.

Not two seconds later the door burst open with a frantic Tokio peering inside. "Ah! Sanosuke, there you are. You know my husband doesn't want me to travel by myself with my life in such danger!"

"Maybe you shouldn't have left the house then," Sano said fighting hard to give the outer impression of nonchalance. He began to fan himself a bit faster in his agitation at her appearance. Saitou had told the woman to leave his men alone, but that didn't seem to bother her since there was no enforcement of that order by the part of the rancher.

Megumi cleared her throat and drew Tokio's attention. The woman paled considerably under the doctor's baleful glare. "I see you've come back to stir a hornet's nest, as usual. I don't really think it should be necessary to remind you, but Saitou divorced you and isn't your husband. He never should have been to begin with."

"Megumi," Tokio deadpanned.

"If you're concerned about your safety, Mr. Okina here will be happy to accompany you while in town. However, I'd appreciate it if you'd leave my boyfriend, Sano alone." Megumi began to busy herself scrubbing some of the instruments she'd use earlier. "We hardly get to see one another and I'd rather not have you around killing the mood."

"Oh really? You gave up on Kenshin then?" Tokio retorted sharply.

It was hard to notice, but Sano caught the hitch in Megumi's breath a moment before she smoothly answered. "Kenshin is a lovely man." She turned toward the other woman brandishing a scalpel in her hand. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself with you as a sister-in-law though." Megumi used a pair of tweezers to remove the scalpel blade and toss it into the sharps container and then directed a sweet smile toward Okina. "Mr. Okina, if you'll be so kind as to escort Tokio around the town."

"That won't be necessary," Tokio bit out through clenched teeth. She brushed her hands down the pale yellow sundress she wore in irritation.

"It would be my pleasure!" Okina said taking hold of Tokio's arm and leading her out of the clinic and onto the streets by force.

"You just saved my life," Sano said relaxing in his chair with his arms behind his head. He propped his feet on the small coffee table in front of him on top of some discarded magazines.

Meguni walked toward him and knocked his feet off. "Do you have any idea how dirty your boots are? Now I'll have to throw out all these magazines you selfish loaf. Think before you act!"

"Jeez, lady. Sorry," Sano said with his feet firmly on the floor. "So, you know Himura?"

"Kenshin and I used to run around together as teenagers. That was before his anger management. He's much different from the boy I knew." She gathered the magazines and dumped them in the waste basket behind the counter. "Now, is there any more drama you wish to bring to my clinic?"

"Look, Megumi, I'm sorry about the magazines. Why don't you let me make it up to you and take you out to grab a bite to eat over at the Akabeko?"

"Maybe some other time, Rooster head. I'm meeting Okina's granddaughter for lunch today."

"Bring her along! Come on, Fox, please?"

"Damn cowboys," she muttered under her breath. "Fine. We were planning to eat there anyway. I don't think she'll mind." Megumi tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Actually, if you can get that Seta boy to join us she'll be delighted. She has a huge crush on him."

"I'll see what I can do," Sano said putting on his hat and tipping it toward Megumi. "You want to head over there now?"

"I have to clean up some things first. I can meet you in twenty minutes though. That's when Misao and I had intended to meet."

A heavy weight had been removed from Sano's shoulders. Maybe Tokio wouldn't bother him now that she thought he was in a relationship with someone she obviously couldn't stand. The woman did seem to be more fixated on him than the rest of the men at the ranch. He took a deep breath of the fresh desert air when he stepped outside. His day grew even better when he spotted Soujiro Seta stepping out of the tackle shop across from the clinic.

"Yo, Sou!" he called out approaching the only person he trusted out in the wilds of New Mexico. "I was just about to start looking for you."

"Well, that's certainly not fair then. I'll go hide and then you can look for me properly," Soujiro said with an easy smile. "What's up?"

"We're having lunch in twenty minutes at the Akabeko."

Soujiro hitched the bag he'd just purchased over his shoulder. "I don't know Sano. I'm not exactly flush on cash right now after Uncle Okita robbed me blind playing Texas Hold'em last weekend."

"It's on me," Sano said slapping an arm around his shorter friend's shoulders and leading him in the direction of the Akabeko. "I got a little bonus from our esteemed boss. It seems he's still feeling guilty about everything that happened with Kaoru."

Soujiro slipped out from under Sano's arm and whirled around to face him. "I know you. There's a catch. What's the catch?"

"It seems that one of the lunch party members has a crush on you. Is that going to be a problem? I owe the other woman. She just saved me from the claws of Tokio!"

Soujiro ran his fingers over the brim of his cowboy hat thoughtfully. "I suppose there could be worse things." He turned 180 degrees and alongside Sano once more started in the direction of the restaurant. "Any news?"

Sano kicked a loose pebble on the sidewalk and shook his head. "Himura says he's passing on my messages, but Shinomori's not allowing us to communicate. He said he's dealing with the financial issues and right now to not worry about anything but letting Kaoru finish her program."

"And what about our suggestion that Ru come visit us for a week in July for the annual Independence Day festivities?"

"Kenshin seemed to like that idea, but he said for us not to get our hopes up about it."

By the time they reached the restaurant more than twenty minutes had passed. Megumi and Misao were already waiting when Tae directed them toward their booth. Sano couldn't help but notice that the good doctor cleaned up real nice. It might not have been a bad idea to pursue her and make her a real hindrance to the likes of Tokio.

Introductions were made, but Misao kept looking down toward the front of the restaurant.

Megumi had just taken a sip of her water when she noticed Misao's preoccupation. "What are you looking for, Misao?" Megumi asked dabbing at her mouth with a napkin.

Misao looked at Soujiro who had just started to drink his water. "I don't mean to be rude, but I was wondering if your brother Ru was coming too?"

Soujiro started chocking and Sano hit him hard on the back. "Ru? You thought Ru was coming?"

Misao folded her arms over her chest and glared down at her bowl of soup. "I was just hoping he might when Megumi said the Seta boy was coming."

"How do you know Ru?" Sano asked. He couldn't picture his sister coming into town in her alter ego. She had never left the ranch as Ru and he'd never seen the small, dark-haired girl over at the Star S.

"I used to have this stupid crush on Mr. Shinomori. I'd go over to his house with my grandfather to deliver things he'd ordered from our store. And one afternoon I was walking in the pastures near the Star S and saw the two Seta brothers on horseback culling the cattle." She propped her elbows on the table and set her chin in her hands. "Soujiro, you were good, but Ru was amazing. I've never seen anyone handle a horse that way before. I bet he is real good to his women."

Sano burst out laughing at the very idea. Megumi gave him an odd look. "Sorry, sorry," he said when Misao turned toward him with an embarrassed expression. "It's just, Ru isn't really interested in relationships."

"Oh? He's one of those type of cowboys, is he?" Megumi asked in a clipped tone with her dark eyes flashing angrily.

"Heavens no!" Soujiro said before they got Kaoru/Ru into any more trouble. If for some reason Shinomori did let her come back to the ranch for the Fourth he certainly didn't want there to be any extra drama. They had plenty enough as things were! "He's just not interested in any relationships. He's real focused on school and ranching."

"That's so sad!" Misao exclaimed with her green eyes bright with tears. "That poor, poor man!"

Sano and Soujiro exchanged glances with one another.

"And he's not exactly interested in women," Soujiro added.

**OoO**

Kaoru adjusted the messenger bag over her shoulder and hit the button for the thirtieth floor on the elevator. She was alone in the giant contraption and the classic elevator music of wordless blues flooded her ears. She'd just had a meeting with the dean of the program and things were going well. He explained to her the unorthodox means Shinomori had maneuvered for her to complete her degree in between the typical semester period, but that as a graduate program the regimen of Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters weren't generally necessary. He had informed her that within six weeks she'd have earned her degree so long as she received a favorable review from her sponsor, Shinomori and his current accountant and manager Bill Cummings.

The elevator didn't stop until the thirtieth floor and Kaoru was grateful to have not had to share the enclosed space. In the past year she'd gotten much better at dealing with other people and not living in fear of being attacked. It helped that she'd gained a good deal of strength and muscle with the horses over the years and that she had a bit of skill in self-defense as well.

She stuck her key into the lock and stepped inside. The lights were already on and she could see Aoshi was asleep on the couch. Kaoru set her bag on the counter and approached Aoshi intent on waking him up and telling him about her meeting.

"Aoshi! What happened?" Kaoru exclaimed gently shaking his shoulder. His face was bruised and his shirt had blood stains all over the front.

Aoshi opened his eyes slowly and sat up gingerly. "You should see the other guy," he muttered.

Kaoru rushed over to the freezer and took out the bag of frozen peas remembering how she dealt with her own black eye a few months ago. Then she returned to his side and took his hand to help him to his feet. "You're a mess, come with me to the bathroom so we can get you cleaned up. And hold onto these for your black eye after we get off the blood," she said handing him the frozen peas.

Aoshi allowed Kaoru to lead him by the hand to the restroom. Kaoru pulled down the lid over the toilet and Aoshi sat there. She turned on the faucet and took out a washcloth and started to clean the shallow lacerations on his face. "Why didn't you clean yourself? This could get infected."

"I was tired." His eyes stayed focused on her hands as she cleaned his wounds. With a sigh he lifted the ruined t-shirt over his head and tossed it into the bathtub. Kaoru gasped at the sight of his battered torso. "It looks worse than it is," he assured her.

Kaoru bit down on her lip and focused on the task of cleaning his wounds with the washcloth and then applying antiseptic ointment. When she finished his face she gestured for him to use the frozen peas and he complied. His body relaxed a bit upon applying the frozen bag to his swollen eye.

Kaoru didn't ask questions, but Aoshi could tell that she wanted to and it was killing her not to voice them. He felt he owed her an explanation since she was the reason he'd gotten himself injured. "My C.I.A. friend Hanya and I had a little conversation with your father's old associates. Kaoru, is there any particular reason why your brother Sanosuke changed his last name from Kamiya to Sagara?"

"Yeah, Dad told him if he wanted to be a rodeo celebrity that he needed a more catchy name so he's suggested Sagara to him. He had an old friend that was a Captain in the Army by that name." Kaoru focused on a particularly large bruise at the base of his right ribs in the liver area. She was no doctor, but she'd learned quite a bit in animal science and knew that if he had a bruise on his liver it would take a long time for him to be one-hundred percent again. "I think you should see a doctor, Aoshi. You may have some internal bleeding."

"Your father probably saved Sano's life then," Aoshi said ignoring her suggestion. He hated doctors. They only ever had bad news for him.

"What do you mean?" Kaoru asked looking into his eyes.

"I think you already know, Kaoru. Your attack years ago wasn't random. It was your father's associates. Or rather, it was your grandfather's associates. It would seem your dad did everything he could to separate himself from that business, but they didn't want to let him go."

"And they told you all of this?"

"I used a great deal of deductive reasoning and gentle persuasion," he said brandishing his broken knuckles.

"You and Hanya did this alone?"

"Not entirely. I have an acquaintance, I believe you met him, his name is Enishi Yukishiro. He has ties with men in power in many countries, including the underground power of the Russian mafia and the Yakuza. He was an invaluable asset. He was really taken by you at the ball."

Kaoru faintly remembered the handsome man with the white hair and bright turquoise eyes. "So why are you all battered?"

"We came to an agreement--those associates and I. They won't be bothering you or your brother ever again."

"What sort of agreement?"

"I bought them off and Yukishiro promised he'd destroy them all if they didn't accept the offer and leave you and your family alone forever."

"You didn't vow to destroy them yourself?" Kaoru asked with a grin. She leaned over and kissed Aoshi's forehead, the only unblemished part of his face.

Aoshi shrugged one of his shoulders. "It wouldn't mean much coming from me. Kaoru, I told you about my medical condition." Kaoru's eyes watered at the reminder and Aoshi's expression hardened at the sight of the tears. He pulled Kaoru onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace. "There's nothing that can be done about it, Kaoru. So don't waste any tears."

"They're not wasted tears, Aoshi. You've done so much for me and you've been nothing but kind and amazing." She looked up into his face then cupped his jaws in her palms and kissed him gently on the lips. At first he did nothing, but then he returned the kiss and deepened it before he suddenly drew away. "Why won't you let me love you?" Kaoru whispered at his rejection.

"We've been over this, Kaoru. It wouldn't be right." He stood and deposited her on her feet in front of him. "Himura keeps harassing me about returning you to the ranch for a spell. It seems that Sagara and Seta keep harassing him about wanting to see you."

Kaoru firmed her resolve and vowed to not tear up again. Her hands fisted at her sides as she stared back cooly at Aoshi. If he wanted to change the topic and pretend there was nothing between them then so be it. "Oh? My brothers respectively wish to see me?"

"I think it would be a good idea. Maybe spend a week there under the guise of Ru, you can stay at the Black Snake of course. If Ru is away at college he'll have a break. As it's almost the fourth of July it makes sense for it to be a break from university."

The idea was rather tempting. She missed her brother and she also missed Soujiro, Tari, and the others at the ranch. And yes, she even missed Hajime Saitou in spite of her better judgment.

"All right, that sounds like it could be fun. What about you?"

Aoshi looked away. "I have business to attend to here. Himura will take care of travel arrangements."

_2/27/10_


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**Chapter Fifteen**

It was the first of July when Kaoru returned to the Black Snake with Himura. Aoshi had been toying with the idea of joining her in the last few weeks after much cajoling on her part, but within the last couple of days suffered from severe migraines. He'd refused to let her stay with him at the suite and Kenshin had come by and practically forced her to return to New Mexico to celebrate Independence Day. Apparently, there was a big parade, barbeque, and games of great skill like horseshoes that had to be enjoyed. It seemed to be mandatory.

She'd spent so much of her time with Aoshi over the last couple of months that it felt strange to be without him, but when she saw the familiar desert sands, cacti, and lizards she felt like she'd returned home and was excited about seeing her brothers again, both the real one and Ru's fictitious one. Kaoru hadn't really allowed herself to miss them as she'd been so absorbed in her studies and her pseudo-relationship with Aoshi.

At the Black Snake there was a room prepared for her with a lovely four-post bed of deep mahogany and off-white comforter. There was an antiqued desk in one corner and a cushioned armchair in another the corner next to a bookcase. In the closet Ru's clothes were folded neatly on the shelves and a pair of boots was tucked into the far corner of the walk-in space. Kaoru grabbed the flannels and then put them back, it was too hot to wear such a thing. There was a couple of button-up cotton shirts hanging in the closet that were new. Apparently, someone put some real thought into preparing her wardrobe.

She chose the blue and green checkered cotton shirt from the hanger, a white undershirt from the shelf, a pair of baggy Levi's complete with the belt that would hold them in place as well as her extremely tight black Nike sport's bra that covered her whole torso from shoulder to navel. She set the clothes on the lovely off-white comforter and took out the pins she'd need to braid her hair onto the top of her head. It had been months since she'd done this routine, but it came back to her with remarkable ease.

Twenty minutes later she came down the stairs in the guise of Ru with a cheerful bounce in her step. Aoshi had recommended that she use his horse Thunder, a powerful quarter-horse he'd trained himself three years ago. The black mare was beautiful and compliant with her requests.

"I think she likes you," Kenshin said as he hopped onto the back of his horse Felicity. "Shall we go off to enjoy the annual barbeque over at the Star S? I'm afraid this is the only time of year I'm ever really invited there."

Kaoru gave Thunder a fierce rub along her neck and hugged her tight. "She's a beauty," she agreed. Kaoru laughed at Kenshin's comment imagining Saitou begrudgingly allowing anyone from the Black Snake over to his precious ranch. She wondered if Kenshin's sister was still there, but figured she'd find out the answer to that soon enough.

"Let's go. I'll race you," she said before urging Thunder to hurry toward the land that separated the two ranches.

"Don't think I'm going to let you win!" Kenshin said maneuvering Felicity right next to her. They continued neck and neck through Aoshi's pastures until they approached the fence just on the other side of the stream. Both Thunder and Felicity leapt across the narrow stream, six feet wide wasn't too difficult for such powerful horses. Kenshin slowed his ride intent on opening the newly installed gate in the fence that Sanosuke had gotten Saitou to agree to constructing roughly three weeks earlier. Either Kaoru didn't notice the gate or she simply didn't intend to use it because she sent Thunder hurdling over the fence and landed with ease at the other side.

She turned Thunder around to face toward Kenshin and waited for him to join her. "Why are you so slow?"

"Why are you so reckless?" he asked opening the gate and leading Felicity in before he latched it shut once more. He sat back on his horse and moved alongside Kaoru and Thunder again. "Aoshi will kill me if you hurt yourself."

"You worry too much," Kaoru said with a grin before urging Thunder to continue toward the ranch where the festivities would be held.

"And you seem to worry not enough," Kenshin muttered following close behind.

"Ru!" Soujiro shouted running out to meet her a few yards away from the barn/stables. "Come with me, I'll show you where to put your horse." Kaoru and Kenshin joined him. She slid off Thunder's back to guide her to the stable area where a couple of stablehands would brush the horse down and water her. "She's a beauty," Soujiro complemented giving the horse a gentle rub over her flank.

Kenshin led his horse toward one of the stalls. "If you don't mind, I'd like to clean my own horse and Ru's as well."

"It's not a problem," Soujiro assured him. The stablehands happily let Kenshin do their work and went to relax in the far corner of the stable. "Let's go, Ru," Soujiro said taking his brother's wrist and leading him toward the ranch house. Kaoru's heart clenched at seeing the barn right next to the stables and remembering the last time she'd been there and the rage of hormones that had consumed her at the time.

The smell of barbeque made her stomach growl. "Wow, it smells really good," she said wistfully. "I'm glad I skipped breakfast."

"You know better than to be skipping meals, Ru," a deep, familiar voice called from her side. Kaoru glanced in that direction and saw Hajime Saitou leaning under the shade of a large tree smoking a cigarette. "You might have ditched me for the world of education, but if you still got to learn the importance of a good meal I'm afraid that maybe you're not ready for college, son."

Kaoru reached up and pulled down the brim of her hat slightly, anxious to hide her face as good as possible from those sharp amber eyes. "Good morning, sir. Sorry for missing that baseball game with you, but when opportunity comes knocking you don't tell it to come back later."

"I suppose not," Saitou agreed flicking his cigarette to the dirt and grounding it under his boot. He approached the Seta brothers and moved to the center of them and put an arm around both of their shoulders. "We'd best make sure Kamatari doesn't scorch the burgers," he said guiding them closer to the ranch.

Kaoru clenched her hands so tightly that she could feel the crescents from her fingernails digging into her palms. She couldn't believe that Saitou had his arms casually over her shoulders considering the last time she'd been around him. "You're too harsh on Tari. He makes some great food. I've sorely missed it these past months."

"Poor thing, forced to each university food. I imagine anything sounds good to you right about now," Saitou agreed.

"What do you mean you don't have any tofu burgers? You expect me to eat this barbaric fattening meat?" Tokio's voice screeched.

Kaoru faltered in her step and she felt Saitou tense at the same moment. She slipped out of the warmth of his arm and moved a few comfortable inches away. "I see your ex is still here. It must be hell." And the woman looked like a she-devil with impractical black stiletto heals, a skin-tight short black dress that left little to the imagination, and string of black pearls around her throat and dangling from her ears. "Looks like she's going to your funeral or something," she muttered.

"She very well could be the death of me. I'm just too damn soft," Saitou muttered. He shrugged and elbowed Ru in the upper arm. "She's a kitten really. Just don't let her claw you."

Ru swallowed past the bile at that comment. She didn't want to think about when Saitou had let those claws into him. "That's a visual I could have done without, sir."

Saitou laughed, a rich baritone that caught the attention of most everyone sitting around the barbeque area. It wasn't often that Hajime Saitou laughed.

"Ru!" Sano called waving from a picnic table he was sitting at with two women that Kaoru didn't recognize. Apparently, her big brother had been busy making friends in her absence. Not stressing about finances certainly seemed to improve his social game.

"If you'll excuse me, sir," Kaoru said tipping her hat politely at Saitou before making a run for it toward Sano. He caught her in a hug and she had to use one hand to hold onto her Stetson to keep it from flying off. "It's good to see you, Sano," she said when he released her. Kaoru looked at the woman at the picnic table. "You going to introduce me to your friends?"

"Why? You planning on stealing them?" Soujiro said coming up on her side and putting his arm casually around her shoulders.

Kaoru had to wonder about everyone trying to put their arm around her. Was it normal to treat a guy that way? Maybe it was to treat a boy that way, but how would an eighteen year old boy react? Kaoru elbowed Sou in the ribs and he removed his arm from her shoulders with an annoyed roll of the joint. "Why would I need to steal anyone's women?"

"The foxy beauty is Dr. Megumi Takani," Sano said placing his hand over the shoulder of the older woman. She was a beauty and Kaoru had to wonder just how serious her brother was about her. "And this cute little thing is Misao," he said indicated the teenaged girl with bright green eyes and dark hair braided down her back.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both," Kaoru said. "I'm Ru Seta and I can't say that I've heard anything about either of you before, but then I've not talked to anyone here in the past few months. You'll have to forgive my ignorance."

"You can ask me anything you want," Misao said with glittering eyes. Kaoru blinked. Was that girl batting her eyelashes at her. She cast a quick glance to Soujiro and he shrugged.

Kaoru decided that was a book best left closed and made her way toward Kamatari and the barbeque pit. "What are you cooking up for me, Tari?"

"For you, Ru, I have cooked the fattened calf!" he exclaimed with a grin a mile wide. Kamatari was dressed for entertainment, not looking much like the one that would be in charge of the barbeque pit. His purple silk shirt, skintight Levis, and black Justins were probably as country as the man ever got.

"Of course you did, thats why everything stinks of burning fat," Tokio said coming up behind Kaoru. "You must be Ru," she said with a purr and then flashed Ru a sassy look with her hand on her hip. Was she flirting with her too? What the hell? "Hajime speaks very fondly of you."

"Hn. I guess he enjoys getting attached to the selfish ones that like to ditch him at the smell of opportunity," Ru said taking one of the kabobs Tari had set next to the grill. "He enjoys getting stabbed in the back, no?" she asked the woman gesturing with the wooden spear in a stabbing motion.

"You foul child, keep your mouth shut about things you don't understand," Tokio hissed.

"Whatever," Ru said moving back to the picnic table and taking the seat next to Yahiko. "You training the horses, like I taught you?"

"Of course, Ru, sir," Yahiko said. It was extremely ironic to Kaoru that while as a woman Yahiko constantly tried to get on her nerves, when she was Ru and teaching him what she knew about horses he was a rapt pupil and ready to please his mentor. "I'll be training to race in the next rodeo for sure!"

"Sorry kiddo, barrel racing is for girls. Guys either get to ride broncos or chase down calves to hog-tie them," Kaoru said ruffling the younger boys hair.

"Then I'll hog-tie the calves. Mr. Saitou said he'll teach me," Yahiko said. He looked across the table in front of Kaoru. "Ain't that right, Mr. Saitou?"

Kaoru tensed immediately upon realizing the rancher was now sitting across from her. "Yeah, sorry about that, Mr. Saitou, you know, the whole making snide comments to your ex in case you over-heard it."

"That's right Yahiko," he said addressing the boy first. He then directed his attention to Ru. "Don't worry about it, Ru. She deserves to get an earful, but unfortunately when it comes to her I can never quite pull off the fire and brimstone routine I can give most women." He stabbed his corn on the cob on both ends with a pair of small prongs before he began to chew on it.

"Maybe you should have directed some of the cruel words you'd given to the others of the female species to the true target," Kaoru suggested repeating his action and stabbing her corn on the cob through the ends.

"You certainly speak more freely, Seta," Saitou said setting down his cob and giving her a curious look. "And still wearing that damned cowboy hat at the table. Still haven't any manners, eh?"

"Frankly, sir, you're no longer my employer so I'm not too inclined to dance on eggshells."

"Cool off the testosterone, gentlemen," Megumi called from the head of the table.

"Right, we don't need a piss-match when we're trying to eat!" Sano called with a laugh.

"How about we have a riding match?" Saitou suggested.

"We're not competing, sir," Kaoru said warily.

"To breath the same air, as men we're always competing," Saitou argued. He gestured toward her plate. "Eat up. I don't want you passing out when you face me."

**OoO**

"Hello, Tokio," Kenshin said stepping behind his sister as she stared balefully down at the grill.

Her back went rigid in tension at the sound of his voice and she turned slowly toward the Black Snake foreman. "Hello, brother. I didn't expect to see you here."

Kenshin smiled politely, but there was no warmth in his amethyst eyes. "Expect the unexpected, dear sister," he said taking hold of her wrist and leading her inside the house. "Why don't we have a brother-sister chat? I'd say we're overdue."

Tokio didn't resist, but her heart sped up in panic. Things had not been going according to plan since she'd moved back to the Star S. When she left it had been a dump, a work-in-progress Hajime had told her proudly, but she'd not listened. Shishio had offered her riches, perhaps not gained legally, but what did she care about such details? She wanted the easy life, not to be some cattleman's wife. But she'd kept tabs on Saitou's progress. Not three years after their divorce had his ranch become a success and he was a very wealthy man now. Always in the past she'd been able to manipulate him to her will. He was putty beneath her hands and had been since they were teenagers.

It would have worked too if it hadn't been for that Kaoru Kamiya. She was glad when the vixen had left, but for some reason even after the witch's absence Hajime still resisted her efforts.

Kenshin led the way to the dining room and released Tokio's wrist. He pulled out a chair at the head of the table and waited for her to sit and then took the seat to her right.

"It looks like karma finally got you," Kenshin said quietly. He was leaned back casually in his chair at complete ease, but Tokio recognize the look in his eyes. It was a gleam of tightly controlled rage and if she upset his delicate balance she knew he could do some serious damage to her person.

"I don't know what you're talking about?" Tokio said defensively crossing her arms over her chest and staring down at the table no longer willing to meet his eyes.

"Your little plan isn't working. Saitou's not crumbling to your every whim like he used to." He reached over and drew her chin toward his direction and met her eyes. "People grow up, Tokio. They learn from their mistakes, maybe you should too."

"That's why I'm here. To make up for my mistake."

"No, you're here hoping to take advantage of the life Saitou made for himself. I may not like the bastard, but I respect him. You really screwed him up. Have you any idea how he's treated women since your malicious betrayal? He's had a couple of really great chances to find happiness, but he's always cut them off at the head because of you."

"Perhaps he still loves me and subconsciously he knows no other woman can live up to what we had with one another."

Kenshin began to chuckle and then sighed. "So delusional. He actually believes your little story about Shishio. I'm sure he wants to look into it, he's not stupid, but he's avoided looking into the veracity of your little concoction. He is a good person and he wants to help you with a second chance, just not with him."

"I don't know what you're talking about. Shishio currently has a bounty on his head from some very upset South American drug lords. As his wife, I'm in a great deal of danger and could be taken hostage and ransomed."

"Even if that were true, do you really think Shishio would part with his precious money to rescue you? Why would he?"

"He loves me," Tokio said glaring at him. Her hands formed fists and she pounded them on the table for emphasis.

"Does he? From what I was able to learn he'd taken up with the porn start Yumi Tiddiwinks. Isn't that why he left you?"

"What is this? A trial? Are you suddenly the judge of me?"

"Judge, jury, and executioner. Look, Tokio, we may have the same blood running through our veins, but you're not my sister. Anyone as selfish as you cannot be part of my family. I'm giving you a week to tell Saitou the truth, or I'll make sure he knows what's really going on. That is, of course, assuming that he doesn't know." Kenshin rose from the table and stared down at her. "Remember, Saitou's not stupid. He used to be blind where you were concerned, but things change. Most people change, but I can see you're still the same."

Tokio watched as her brother left. Fear clutched at her heart. If Hajime knew the truth she'd be out on the streets in no time. It wasn't like she had any friends to count on as she'd burned all those bridges years ago. The only thing she had was her looks and now that she wasn't twenty any more.

Her thoughts drifted to that Kamiya girl once again. Things would have been perfect if she hadn't showed up. She might have been gone now, but even in her absence the damage she caused couldn't be repaired. Even Kamatari had been cold and aloof toward her and she knew it had been because of the hallway incident with that girl.

Tokio put her head into her hands unsure of what to do next.

**OoO**

"All right, Boss, you're going to have to wait on that race with Ru," Sano said standing and making way for Kamatari.

"What the hell?" Saitou groaned upon seeing his cook holding a three tiered chocolate birthday cake with an impressive amount of candles on top. "Are you trying to set this place on fire?"

"With the drought fireworks are banned," Tari said with a smile. "But I figured that having thirty-five candles wouldn't be too dangerous." He stood behind Ru and together the two set the cake in the middle of the table in front of Saitou.

"You didn't think too hard then," Saitou growled embarrassed. He had really hoped that his birthday would pass unnoticed and forgotten. He didn't want to celebrate another wasted year. His ranch was making do, but things were getting tight. He was unmarried and had no children and in his father's eyes, God rest his soul, he would have been seen as a disappointment.

"Wow! Happy birthday Mr. Saitou!" Ru said with a broad smile. The sight of which stirred odd feelings in Saitou that he didn't care.

"Let's light that fire hazard and get to singing!" Yahiko said standing anxiously. "That burger didn't go far enough and I need me some chocolate!"

"I don't have a lighter," Sano said apologetically. Everyone looked at Saitou and with a sigh he pulled out his lighter and handed it over to his foreman.

Saitou sat back while the guests at his home began to sing him Happy Birthday and he felt a faint smile creep across his lips. Maybe life wasn't such a disappointment after all.

_2/28/10_


	16. Chapter Sixteen

_A/N: Surprise! After five years I'm revisiting/rewriting this story (thanks to Cat Foxglove's determination). I just got through editing the first thirteen chapters and starting with chapter fourteen re-wrote completely new chapters. There is no sequel as many had asked in previous reviews, but instead a much better ending that's to come in the next couple of chapters. You asked for closure and after half a decade I'm finally giving it to you! Of course, now you probably have to go back and re-read the whole story...but it will be worth it! ~ Belle_

**Chapter Sixteen**

The three-tiered cake had been a triple chocolate delight and Kaoru had happily savored every bite of her piece. And if she wasn't mistaken it looked like Hajime Saitou, the prince of darkness himself, was enjoying his too. She still hadn't seen Kenshin since she left him with the horses and thankfully Tokio had pulled a much appreciated disappearing act as well.

"Perhaps now that we've made gluttons of ourselves it would be a good time to start a friendly round of horseshoes," Saitou suggested. He looked over toward Sano who was standing near the end of the table. "Do you have everything set up, Sagara?"

"Of course, sir, what do you take me for?" Sano asked with an expression of hurt. He leaned over close to Soujiro's ear. "We do have everything set up, right?"

"Yahiko and I set it up a couple of hours ago," Soujiro answered with a bright smile.

"Ru is on my team!" Yahiko declared as he took the older boy by the wrist and dragged him toward the horseshoe area. He looked up to Ru, who was only slightly taller than his five-foot-five stature. "You do know how to play, right Ru?"

Kaoru pulled her arm free and took hold of Yahiko in a headlock and gave him a fierce noogie against his wild hair. "I'll figure it out. Something about you throw the horseshoes toward some posts and the closer you get the better the score."

Yahiko stepped hard on Kaoru's foot and pulled himself free of her grasp. "Right, now stop goofing around. This is serious business!"

"Misao and I would be happy to compete," Soujiro suggested urging the teenaged girl to follow after him. "Watch out little brother because I'm going to take you down," he warned Ru with a grin.

"Prove it!" Kaoru picked up her team's set of horseshoes and gave half to Yahiko. "I think you should go first," she suggested. Her attention was drawn back to the house where she saw Kenshin joining the gathering. He was talking to Sano and Megumi and the conversation seemed a bit strained if the woman's tight features were any indication. Kaoru wondered if they knew each other. It had been so long since she'd seen her brother that she didn't really have any idea of what he'd been up to during her absence. Hopefully, he hadn't gotten himself involved in a love triangle. Sano looked over and caught her eye and started over in her direction.

"Are you even paying attention?" Yahiko complained brandishing a horseshoe in Kaoru's face.

Kaoru slapped it away. "Of course I'm paying attention. Yesh, cool your jets."

"If you were paying attention then you'd know it was your turn," Yahiko said with a scowl.

"Right, well then," Kaoru said and then she noticed the teen was still holding his horseshoes. "Wait, what? You're supposed to go first."

"No, I just told you I do better when I'm second."

"All right, fine." Kaoru moved to the start line and held her horseshoe loosely as she took aim. She swung her arm back and forth three times before letting loose of the iron horseshoe and watched it set sail toward the spike in the ground. It bounced against it and then landed about six inches shy. "Dang it."

"Not bad, Ru," Saitou said pulling out a cigarette and leaning against the fencing near the game with Kamatari and Sano at his side. "Remember, in horseshoes close counts. You just have to do better than your opponents."

Kaoru glanced over toward Soujiro and Misao and saw that two of their horseshoes had already been thrown and hers was closer to her goal. She took her second horseshoe and did the same thrice back and forth motion before letting it fly once more. This time it struck the spike and fell at its base.

"Awesome!" Yahiko said holding his hand for a high-five. Kaoru meet the hand happily. And then gestured for him to take his turn. "I'm going to get them both," he declared. He followed Ru's example of aiming and then thrice swinging his arms, his tongue stuck out between his lips in intense concentration and then he released the horseshoe. It clang with a metallic ring as it hit the post and slid to the ground right on top of hers.

"I think y'all are cheating!" Soujiro called out with a laugh. "Someone should check those horseshoes for magnets! I know Ru! He's a total cheater!"

"Don't be a sore loser!" Ru called back. Yahiko took his second toss and it also hit the post and slid to the ground with a definitive clang.

"I do declare Ru and Yahiko the winner," Saitou announced. "Who will challenge the champions?"

"Why don't you, boss man?" Sano asked.

Saitou looked from Yahiko to Ru and shook his head. "A man knows when he faces impossible odds."

"That's the words of a quitter," Ru jeered. "Surely, Hajime Saitou, owner of the Star S Ranch doesn't quit before he's even tried."

Saitou tossed his cigarette down and smashed it under the toe of his foot. "Very well." He looked over toward the picnic area where most of the cowhands still were enjoying cake. "Himura!" he called toward his rival's foreman. "Let's combine forces and show these upstarts a thing or two."

Kenshin had been in deep conversation with Megumi when Saitou had called his name. He looked over toward the horseshoe area and gave the doctor a quick apology before rushing over. "My apologies, have I been missing out?"

"You're just in time to help me show these two boys how a man throws horseshoes," Saitou said handing over a pair of the U-shaped objects toward the redhead and keeping a pair for himself. Hajime stood at the start line and tossed his horseshoes after only swinging them twice and each time he hit dead center on the post. He turned to Kenshin. "Let's see the Battousai do better."

Kenshin cleared his throat. "I don't know about him, but I'll do my best." He took Saitou's place and then took aim, he only swung back his horseshoes once and then hit the target perfectly. "It seems I still have the touch."

"Impressive. You guys spend hours out here practicing or something?" Ru asked a bit sarcastically. Kaoru didn't mind losing, but Ru was a sore loser.

"No, but I do practice riding my horse and if you want to try and beat me I'll be happy to compare the talents of my Caramel to your steed," Saitou said. "Come on, boy. I never got to race against you when you were working my ranch. I was too busy with other things."

"Man! Ru! You should totally take him up on it! Mr. Saitou is really awesome in the saddle. No one can beat him! Maybe not even you!" Yahiko said taking Ru's upper arm and squeezing it in his excitement. Kaoru would no doubt have bruises there the next day from his fingers.

Ru laughed and turned to Soujiro. "Is that true, Sou? Can this chain-smoker stay on the horse long enough to be of some entertainment?"

Saitou cleared his throat. "This chain-smoker is healthier than most men. And I'll be happy to prove it to you."

"And perhaps another day you will, Mr. Saitou," Kenshin said walking toward the posts to collect the horseshoes. He handed the sets to Sano before moving to Kaoru's side. "However, Ru and I have business to attend to back at the Black Snake so he'll have to take a raincheck."

Saitou groaned and rubbed his forehead in irritation. "How Shinomori managed to snag you from me I'll never know," he muttered.

"He's the one that sponsored my scholarship," Ru helpfully supplied.

"Did he now?" Saitou asked with a shade of suspicion in his tone.

"Maybe tomorrow morning you can come back to ride with us?" Sano suggested.

"That sounds good," Kenshin said taking hold of Ru's elbow and leading him back towards the stables. "Thanks for the party, Mr. Saitou," he called over his shoulder. "But we've other business to attend this evening."

Kaoru raised her hand to grip the brim of her Stetson in a farewell solute. "See y'all in the morning. Yahiko, you best be up and ready to do some training. And Mr. Saitou I'll beat the pants off you if you really want to try and race me." She then allowed Kenshin to drag her away.

"I'm not so sure that beating the pants off Hajime Saitou would be a good idea all things considering," Kenshin whispered into Kaoru's ear.

She chuckled softly at the visual remembering vividly what he looked like wearing only a towel. "No, I don't suppose it would," she agreed. They collected their horses and took off back toward the Black Snake at a sedate pace. "Are you all right?" Kaoru asked Kenshin "You sort of disappeared once we got there."

"Don't worry about me, Miss Kaoru," Kenshin said with a pleasant smile. "I just wanted to speak with my sister in private and then when I saw everyone so occupied at the barbeque I didn't want to intrude."

"Did you know that lady Megumi?"

"We knew each other a long time ago," he said quietly.

His tone worried her. She didn't want Sanosuke getting involved with a woman that loved someone else. Her brother was a happy-go-lucky kind of guy for the most part, but she knew how sensitive his heart was. And she didn't know if she'd be able to put the pieces back together were it to be broken. It looked like he had somehow gotten himself involved in a triangle.

"So, do you think Bill's going to have a lot of work for me when we get back?" Kaoru asked breaking the uneasy silence that had fallen over them.

"Nothing you can't handle, I'm sure."

**OoO**

"Jeez, Yahiko! Haven't you been listening? You can't rope them like that. You've got to put it around the horns first, not the neck!" Ru explained leaping off her horse and quickly untying the struggling calf.

"I'm trying! Give me a break, Ru!"

"You could strangle one of these guys if you're not careful," Kaoru said releasing the rope from around the calf's neck. It was gasping for air and quickly ran away as soon as it was free. "I think we should practice with the dummy some more. Aim is everything."

Yahiko slid off his horse and started to storm away. Kaoru took off after him and grabbed him by the shoulder to spin him toward her. There were tears of frustration in his dark eyes. "It took me years to get this right, Yahiko. You've only been doing it for a few weeks and Sano's not nearly as good a teacher as me I'm afraid so you had a disadvantage," she said with a grin. "But you have to start slow. I was awful at first and you're already much better than I was at your age."

"All right, fine, I get your point." Yahiko took his lasso and started practicing on the wooden dummy they'd set up.

"You teaching the boy how to be a champion?" Saitou asked coming up to the fence post of the small arena and leaning his elbows on it. "Or are you trying to sabotage things here for the Black Snake since that's where your loyalty lies now."

"Mr. Saitou, sir, I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize your ranch," Kaoru said in her best 'aw shucks' sort of voice. She hooked on a leash to the calf's collar and started to lead him toward his waiting mother in the holding area next to the little arena. After she released it and watched mother and calf reunite she turned toward Saitou. "You ready for our race sir? See who's got the better moves?"

"I've more experience than you kid. You haven't a chance," Saitou said as he opened the gate for Ru. They started on the way toward the stables to pick up their horses.

"Sorry to say, old man, but you'll be buried in my dust," Ru answered. "No horse can best Thunder. Shinomori trained her well."

Saitou scoffed. "Shinomori may have more resources at his ranch, but you seem to have forgotten the Star S has quality that can be matched by none."

Kaoru looked over at his smug expression and she suddenly realized the reason behind his confidence. She punched him hard in the shoulder. "You're riding Exitor! That's unfair! You said you'd be riding Caramel."

He rubbed his shoulder. "That's elder abuse," Saitou grunted.

Ru took out Thunder and sattled her while Saitou did the same with Exitor. Kaoru looked over toward the white beast with envy written clearly across her features. "I do miss this ranch."

Saitou moved to sit on his horse and looked down at Ru as she did the same. "You could always quit that university and come back," he suggested.

"Yeah, and never do anything better than chase my tail if I don't educate my mind," Ru answered back hopping onto Thunder and urging her toward the door. "Where you want to race to? The stream?"

"That works," Saitou said coming up alongside her. They waited at the gate and Yahiko had set aside his practice lasso and opened it for them to pass through. "Let's count to three, shall we? One, two, three!" They took off like a rocket on their respective steeds.

Thunder and Exitor were evenly matched and both riders were well disciplined in riding. Kaoru used to Barrel Race as a teenager, something Saitou had no clue about since he thought she was a boy named Ru. She wasn't sure where Saitou learned to ride, but he handled his horse like it was an extension of himself. There was a fallen log and neither moved to avoid it and rather each sent their horse sailing over it with ease.

Kaoru was actually shocked when Saitou beat her to the stream by a good three seconds. She knew she was good, but the rancher surprised her. It seemed that the foul tempered man, who had surprisingly been rather fun to hang out with, had some real talent.

Kaoru led Thunder to one of the few trees that grew along the fence line near the stream. She looped the horse's reigns over one of the low hanging branches. Saitou did the same with Exitor. Kaoru looked up at the tall man and rubbed the sweat that accumulated across her forehead, careful not to remove her Stetson.

"I'm impressed, old man."

Saitou took off his hat and fanned his face. "I've not had to ride that hard in years."

Kaoru moved toward the stream and took off her boots and socks intent to cool her feet in the water. Since she couldn't exactly strip down to stave off the dry New Mexico heat she thought that dipping her feet in the stream would help.

"I don't know that that's a good idea, Ru. Those waters are rumored to have some pretty nasty snakes," Saitou said coming up close to the stream. He had a flask at his hip and took a swig of it before offering it in Ru's direction. "It's just some water. Knowing you, you didn't bring any."

Ru looked at the make-shift canteen with obvious trepidation. Who put water into a hip flask? What if it was really some hard core whisky? The last time she'd had alcohol had been at the Catttleman's Ball and that hadn't worked out very favorably.

"It's not poison. Just take it and rehydrate. I don't need you passing out on me."

Kaoru yanked the water out of his hand and helped herself to the clear liquid. It was cool and refreshing going down her throat. She was reaching out to hand it back to Saitou when she felt a sharp pressure at her ankle. A black blur seemed to slither away from her in the water and she stumbled out of the stream.

"What the hell?" Saitou said hauling her out of the water when she started to collapse.

Kaoru held her bleeding ankle and there were two vivid fang marks puncturing the flesh and a thick stream of blood flowing down. "Cotton mouth," she mumbled.

"Hey! What's going on down there?" Kenshin Himura called riding Felicity toward the fence separating the two ranches. "Ru!"

"The damn water moccasin got him," Saitou explained. "It was one of the little ones."

"The babies are much more poisonous than the others," Kenshin said. "We got to get him to the clinic immediately to get the anti-venom in him. I just hope they have some on hand at the clinic. The nearest hospital is two hours away."

"Keep calm, Ru. Himura will take you to the clinic and I'll find Soujiro and have him meet you there," Saitou said. He swung up the boy in his arms. It was some what amusing that in spite of the pain in his leg Ru kept a firm hold of his Stetson. The kid must have really loved his cowboy hat.

_A/N: Please review and let me know what you think!_

_2/28/10_


	17. Chapter Seventeen

**Chapter Seventeen**

"Are we supposed to use a tourniquet? To stop the poison from traveling up?" Saitou asked. "Shit, I hope it didn't hit an artery." He held Ru against him and was surprised by the boy's light weight. How in the world did he manage to manhandle horses with such a frail body? And something else seemed funny about him, but he couldn't quite place it.

"A tourniquet? Won't that cut off circulation? I think you're only supposed to do that with profuse bleeding," Ru said with a grimace.

"Perhaps you'd like the poison to go to your heart!" Saitou sneered.

"At least I have a heart," Kaoru growled as she clutched her ankle and did her best to keep her breasts from grazing Saitou's body in any way. She didn't need any more trouble and sportsbra could only do so much. "I don't think it hit a vessel, I hope." She wanted to put her face into Saitou's shirt collar and cry her heart out, but even now she needed to keep up her charade and that would give the man too many clues to the truth because there was no way in all of creation that Ru Seta would cry!

"I believe that's one of the things you're supposed to avoid," Kenshin said as Saitou helped to settle Ru with him on Felicity. "We're in a severe time crunch now. In about five minutes Ru is going to be in some intense pain. Have Soujiro meet us at the clinic." Kenshin then gripped Kaoru tightly in his arms and took off at breakneck speed toward the driveway of Shinomori's ranch house.

Kaoru had no qualms about pressing her face against Kenshin's chest as soon as they were out of Saitou's sight. It helped to focus on the plaid pattern of his shirt than an her own stupidity that led toward her current predicament.

Saitou didn't waste any time in releasing both Thunder and Exitor and riding the latter while leading the former back toward his stables. He couldn't believe the kid's bad luck. Water mocassins weren't supposed to be in New Mexico, their territory wasn't supposed to extend past Texas, but thanks to human encroachment there had been a family of the pit vipers along the streams in their region for the past decade. He would have taken care of them himself, but honestly, they hadn't been a problem. The animals stayed away, but it seemed that his cowboys weren't as bright as his cattle.

The only good news was that it wasn't a rattlesnake. They were even more toxic than a cottonmouth, but that hardly meant that Ru was in for a picnic. He sincerely hoped that Dr. Takani had anti-venom and blood supplies at her clinic or else they'd have to take Ru to the nearest hospital and hope for the best. He grit his teeth as he hurried back as anxiety began to crawl up his spine. If something happened to that kid he'd never forgive himself.

**OoO**

The pain was unreal. Kaoru's ankle throbbed with greater intensity as each second passed and she was only a step away from the happy oblivion of unconsciousness. But Himura, that stupid foreman of Aoshi's wouldn't let her!

"It hurts! Why won't you let me sleep?" she cried with tears of pain slipping down her cheeks unheeded. She felt like a sissy crying. It wasn't like she'd never been injured before--she'd broken at least one arm growing up-- but this pain was different. With this burning pain came the worry of what the poison could do with her and thoughts of mortality crept in and out of her mind as well as an overwhelming feeling of drowsiness from the stress of it all. Life had been going so well for her lately. Why did she have to die by snake bite?

"Because if you sleep you may never wake up," Kenshin said as he navigated the roads between the ranch and the town. Dully she recognized the path, but her vision was starting to fade and her thoughts were getting fuzzier. "Stay awake, Miss Kaoru. Aoshi won't want you asleep when he meets you at the clinic. He has so much to tell you."

"Aoshi's going to be there?" she asked wistfully. Just the thought of the dark-haired man made her chest tighten. She wasn't sure what it was about the man that constantly confused her more than even Hajime Saitou. She was pretty sure she was in love with him, but while he obviously cared about her he refused to reciprocate. It was quite frustrating! At least with Saitou things were clear--they disliked each other. Kaoru wrapped her hands around her ankle hoping to utilize the discomfort to keep her more awake. Kenshin had used his plaid button-up over-shirt to wrap around the wound and staunch the blood flow. The ankle was twice the size as the other and was already turning a vivid display of blue and purple. "I need to talk to him about naming his ranch Black Snake. It's like he invited the thing to live there."

"You can mention that when you see him," Kenshin said. His truck was currently traveling at 110 miles per hour and he would have pushed it further except for fear of striking a random animal crossing the road that could send them careening into a ditch. And it was a good thing, because an armadillo was in the middle of the road. Kenshin barely had time to avoid the little armored creature.

"You should drive more carefully," Kaoru murmured.

Kenshin focused on the road and soon enough reached Megumi's clinic from the Black Snake in a record fifteen minutes. He burst through the door with Kaoru in his arms. Megumi was sitting at the lone desk filling out charts when she looked up to see her newest patient.

"What happened?" Megumi said quickly rushing to her feet. "Set him on the exam table," she said gesturing toward the nearest table of the three in the large room. Above each table was a curtain that could be drawn to partition the area for privacy.

"Got bit by a water mocassin over at the ranch," Kenshin explained setting Kaoru on the table. Her cowboy hat fell off her head and Kenshin reached out to catch it and tossed it to land on one of the chairs in the waiting area.

"Any latex allergies?" Megumi asked.

"Kaoru, are you allergic to latex?" Kenshin asked gently shaking her shoulder, belatedly he realized he'd omitted the 'Miss' formality, but that hardly mattered at the moment. She shook her head no and her braids had loosened. "No," he answered.

"Kaoru?" Megumi repeated pulling out a pair of latex gloves and approaching the patient. She untied the makeshift bandage and cringed at the sight. The flesh around Kaoru's ankle was a mottled mess of purple, blue, and crimson blood. She looked over toward Kenshin for affirmation.

"This is Kaoru Kamiya. There is no Ru Seta," Kenshin explained.

"I see, that certainly does explain a few things. Misao will be so disappointed. Well you're lucky it was a water mocassin and not a rattlesnake. And this bite came very close to the venous network in her ankle. Three millimeters to the left and this story would have been over in less than a minute and even quicker if it hit an artery," Megumi said concentrating on the wound. She used saline solution to pour over the wound to clear the area for better visualization. "Very lucky."

"Don't feel so lucky," Kaoru said hitting her head back against the table as Megumi scrubbed the highly sensitive flesh. "Where's Aoshi?"

"He's coming," Kenshin said reaching for Kaoru's hand and squeezing it reassuringly before releasing it and standing back. "Do you have any anti-venom?"

"Yes, thankfully as well as some Lytes," Megumi said. "There's a coolant system in the back, I'll be right back and get started." She hurried back with a line pole, a bag of saline, some tubing, and a vial of the horse serum anti-venom. She busied herself hooking her patient to the IV drip so that she could administer the anti-venom. "What's your blood type, Kaoru? Do you have any significant medical history? Are you on any medications?"

Kaoru was staring down at the IV that was inserted in the back of her right hand. "Shouldn't this stuff be closer to the snake bite?"

"Systemic treatment," Megumi answered. She glanced over at Kenshin and he gave her helpless shrug. "Kaoru, did you hear my question earlier?"

"No allergies. I used to have asthma when I was kid," she mumbled. "Do I get a morphine drip? You know this thing hurts."

"Sorry, we're fresh out. What's your blood type?" Megumi asked.

"AB, that's good right?"

"It's the universal accepter," Megumi agreed. "Do you know if you're positive or negative RH factor?"

"Negative."

The expression on Megumi's face grew grim. "Kaoru, you're going to need at least two blood transfusions. The snake's poison will cause a significant amount of blood to lyse, or destroy itself. I don't exactly have a big supply of blood on hand. I do have one O Negative that will work, but it won't be enough. We have to have at least two bags."

"Sano is O Positive, will that work?" Kaoru asked.

"No." Megumi had started to tend the snake bite wound again while the IV drip administered the anti-venom.

The warning bell rang at the front of the clinic as Soujiro walked inside. "Saitou is parking. How serious is it?"

"That depends. What's your blood type?" Megumi asked looking at him sharply.

"Uh, AB Negative," Soujiro answered. "Why?"

"Then things are going to be fine," Megumi answered. She looked over toward Kenshin with a look of disbelief. "What are the odds?"

Kenshin cleared his throat as he glanced between Kaoru and Soujiro. "Odds are pretty good considering Soujiro and Kaoru are brother and sister."

"Am I still hallucinating?" Kaoru asked.

"What did you say?" Soujiro asked as he came up to Kaoru's side. He took her hand that wasn't hooked up to the tubes. He looked down at her and then back at Kenshin.

"You have the same biological father, George Seta. I'll explain things to you later, but right now Megumi needs some of your blood Sou," Kenshin said. "And we've got to keep Saitou away from here."

Kaoru burst out laughing and then groaned. "My head hurts."

"You do have poison running through your system," Soujiro pointed out. "It was pretty stupid to walk barefoot in that stream. July is the peak of the snake season. Didn't I warn you about those snakes a thousand times when we were out on the fences?"

"Yesh, you sound like Sano scolding me," she mumbled. Her eyes felt heavy and she was becoming very drowsy. Did someone turn out the lights?

"Apparently, I have to make up for lost times. Who would have thought I was your brother back when we decided to pull off this stunt? I guess it makes sense since we were both right alongside one another in wanting to pull it off." Soujiro rolled up his shirtsleeve. "So you gonna take some blood now?"

"In a little while," Megumi answered. "After this IV drip I'll do a transfusion of the O Negative I've got. So I won't need any from you for at least a couple of hours. We can't overload her system with too much all at once."

"Kaoru? Are you still there?" Kenshin asked gently shaking her shoulder. She didn't respond. He looked at Megumi with concern. "Is this normal? I could get the Cessna and take her to the major hospital in Roswell. I still have to call Shinomori and let him know what happened."

"That won't be necessary, Kenshin. We've everything we need right here, thankfully. And it's natural that she is unconscious right now as it's a pretty stressful situation. The body will shut itself down when too stresed, but it's fine as we're past the imminent danger stage."

The front door of the clinic opened and an anxious Satiou rushed in. "Is the kid alright?" His eyes fell to the partitioned area where everyone was standing around.

"Or maybe we aren't," Soujiro muttered in response to Megumi's assessment of being out of danger. He pulled the curtains more securely around Kaoru's form and turned toward his boss. "Ru is going to be fine sir. You acted fast, so all he needs is to let the anti-venom get in his system and go through a blood transfusion."

"Dr. Takani?" Saitou asked looking past Soujiro for the dark-haired woman. The cell phone in his back pocket began to vibrate and he studiously ignored it waiting for confirmation from the doctor that Ru would be fine.

"I have everything under control, Mr. Saitou," Megumi said coming around the curtained area. She held the curtain in place with one hand, worried that the rancher would see Kaoru in her vulnerable state. She didn't understand the ruse, but if it was important to both Sanosuke and Kenshin then it must have been worth keeping.

The cell phone continued to ring so Saitou reached into his back pocked and pulled the razor-styled phone out. He flipped it open. "Saitou."

"Mr. Saitou! He's loose!" Yahiko's voice shouted through the line.

"Calm down, boy. Who's loose?"

"The bull! He broke through the fence and went straight for a heifer on The Black Snake! He's...uh...distracted...but we can't get him back. He's just so damned huge and determined. Sano used to be a rodeo bull rider and he managed to get on his back for a moment, but he went flying."

"That fool of a foreman!" Saitou hissed. That's just what he needed. No only did Ru Seta get bit on his watch, but now his foreman Sagara was going to get himself killed with his harebrained actions. "I'll be right there," he said shutting off his phone. "Let me know if you need anything from me, Dr. Takani. I'll pay whatever medical expenses Ru might incur."

"Don't worry about such things, Mr. Saitou," Kenshin said. "Do you need some help with that bull of yours?"

Saitou's lips thinned in displeasure at the idea of allowing Shinomori's foreman to help him. He didn't enjoy being reminded that for a brief amount of time the redhead had been his brother-in-law, but he couldn't deny Himura's skills either. "I would appreciate it."

**OoO**

Himura had followed after Saitou toward the Star S Ranch. Tokio was sitting on the steps of the ranch house waiting. For a lady living at a rough ranch she certainly wasn't dressed appropriately in her shiny red cocktail dress, stiletto heels, and long dangly diamond earrings. Saitou wanted to make a snide remark about the costume she was donning and that it hardly compared to getting an irate bull under control, but once more when it concerned his ex-wife he found himself oddly mute. All his sarcastic remarks evaporated on his tongue before he could voice them.

Saitou simply strode past her with Himura on his heels toward the back. He didn't like the idea of using a tranquilizer on his prized bull, but he didn't see any other option. If the bull had gotten loose just to roam that would be one thing, but if he decided to start his own mating season then no one stood a chance against two-thousand pounds of determined male. Kenshin went for the barn to borrow a horse and Saitou went inside the house to gather the gun he used on the rare occasions he had to tranquilize one of his larger beasts.

When he stepped outside, Yahiko was panting on the back steps. "Follow me, sir," he said leading the way toward Exitor who had been prepared. Kenshin was all ready prepared to go on the horse Ru had used earlier. Together they took off after Yahiko to where the bull was causing havok.

It was messy business getting the bull away from his female companion, and painful as it was to watch, Saitou decided it best to let him finish his business and then tranquilize the beast. He couldn't risk two-thousand pounds of prize bull crushing Shinomori's much smaller heifer. Sano had already brought out the equipment to transport the bull to a secure pen, otherwise there would be no way man-power alone could transport the unconscious animal.

As much as he didn't like the idea, he'd agreed with Himura that the bull would stay at the Black Snake's more secure holding area until he could fix the problem. Obviously, the pens on the Star S Ranch were no match for a determined, horny bull.

Afterward, Saitou returned to his ranch house. He tossed his hat across the room and sat on the couch. He was dirty, but he was too tired to care. If a man couldn't sit on his couch when he was dead tired, what was the point of having one? His prized bull was on the Black Snake for an indeterminate amount of time and one of his cowhands was bitten by a poisonous snake on his watch. Sanosuke was especially pissed at him for not letting him go to check on Ru at the clinic. What did his foreman need to be there for when Ru's brother was there?

"What else could go wrong?" he muttered leaning his head back against the couch cushions and closing his eyes. He felt the shift in the room's air when she entered. Her perfume of Gardenia seemed to wrap around his heart and squeeze. He was so over her, but still she could piss him off like no one else. "What do you want, Tokio?"

"Is that anyway to talk to someone who's only concerned about how you're feeling?" she asked sitting next to him. He could feel her soft curves pressing against his arm and the touch of her fingers plucking at the hairs above his neck. The action used to sooth him years ago. Now, nothing soothed him. "Is there anything I can do for you, Hajime?"

"Yeah, you can get out of my life," he said opening his eyes and turning toward her effectively pulling his hair away from her fingers. "I'm not in the mood for your attempts at seduction." And he would have to admit that she was still a temptress. If he'd never met her and was seeing her for the first time he'd find himself insanely attracted. But he was smarter now. He knew there was more to a good woman than saying the right things and beauty.

"I've been here for months, Hajime. But you won't even look at me. You won't talk to me. We used to mean the world to each other. I still love you, Hajime," Tokio said brushing her index finger from his ear down his jaw.

He started to laugh. It was just too funny. "Well I don't love you, Tokio."

"I can live with that. I can make you happy."

"No, you can't. I let you stay here to get back on your feet. I don't owe you anything, Tokio. Let alone a second chance. You don't get one." Saitou stood and towered over the woman. "I want you out. You have until the end of the month. That's more than enough time to get your shit together."

"Hajime!" Tokio cried standing and taking hold of his lapels. "You don't understand! I came back here, not because I had no where to go, but because I'm so sorry! I never should have left you! You were the best thing that ever happened to me and I didn't appreciate it! I didn't appreciate you!" She began to sob against the front of his dust covered shirt.

"Let me put this as simply as I can. I don't care." Saitou gently pried her fingers off him and turned away. He went up the stairs to his bedroom and locked the door. All he wanted to do was take a long shower and forget that the day ever happened. As he stepped into the bathroom his eyes were once again drawn toward the large garden tub where he'd seen an all too lovely vision of Kaoru months before. It drove him crazy. She was constantly on his mind these days and he had no way of communicating with her.

He wanted to apologize for his behavior in so many ways. He'd thought of asking Sagara for a way to contact her, or to at least pass on his apologies, but every time the situation presented itself he never did. He could only hope that their paths would converge one day so that he could ask her forgiveness for his behavior. And given her relationship with Shinomori, if rumors from Enishi Yukishiro could be trusted, he'd see her soon enough.

**OoO**

Aoshi was frantic with the news that Kaoru had been injured on her little vacation. He'd been at the doctor's having CTs and MRIs of his brain which only told him what he already knew. His case was hopeless. He'd lied to Kaoru saying he'd had terrible migraines lately, when in actuality he'd suffered from two seizure episodes. He didn't want to risk her finding him in such a vulnerable condition and while his medications had been adjusted the nagging fear of a reoccurrence haunted him.

Himura had called him while he was driving back to the ranch to help Saitou with his wild bull that had run free once more. Aoshi had suggested keeping the bull at their ranch considering this wasn't the first time Saitou's bull had broken loose. He'd invested in the newest, state of the art construction materials for his holding pens and knew that stubborn Hajime Saitou would no doubt still be using the same materials ranchers had been using for decades and ignoring new developments.

And as soon as he'd hung up the phone he started making calls to get to New Mexico as soon as possible. The doctors warned him that he shouldn't pilot anymore himself due to his condition, so it was with a great deal of irritation that he'd had to utilize his private jet and captain. It wasn't that he hadn't used the jet before, but he preferred doing things himself. And he liked flying from the position of the cockpit. It wasn't the same sitting in the back being chauffeured.

However, if the first thing Kaoru did when no longer under his supervision was get herself hospitalized things would be better off if he kept her with him. The mafia shouldn't be an issue anymore, but he had plans for Kaoru Kamiya that did not include her being poisoned!

_A/N: Thanks to Cat Foxglove for her constant pestering on working on this story. She's such a slave-driver! However, I appreciate her! And thanks again everyone for reading/reviewing! Feedback always helps!_

_3/28/10_


	18. Chapter Eighteen

_A/N: I would like to dedicate the rest of the story to the memory of my friend Kanzen ne Tsuki-my original co-writer. In March of this year she passed away from complications after an infection with pneumonia. She was such a great woman and I'm going to miss her terribly!_

**Chapter Eighteen:**

Kaoru folded her arms under her head and stared at the ceiling above her lovely queen-sized bed at the Black Snake Ranch. She wasn't sure how much time had passed because Kenshin had taken away her clock telling her she needed to sleep and not focus on the time of day. The only thing that entertained her was the bruising throb of her ankle.

Dr. Takani said she was no longer in any kind of danger and that she'd check on her later that morning just to make sure everything was still fine. There were a lot of heavy thoughts on Kaoru's mind as the sun continued to climb higher in the sky. She knew it was still morning because Megumi hadn't been by yet and that still didn't make her feel any better considering that she still hadn't seen Aoshi.

She learned that Soujiro was her true blood brother and then had to be parted from him before either of them could really enjoy it. The whole ruse seemed rather pointless, but now if it were revealed both Soujiro and Sanosuke could lose their jobs. If anyone held a grudge for betrayal that would be one Hajime Saitou. But then again, his ex-wife, the one that destroyed his perfect little world was still living in his house.

The grumpy rancher simply went beyond comprehension.

Kaoru was broken out of her reverie by the gentle knock on her bedroom door. "Come in," she called back lazily.

The door creaked open and Aoshi entered. His skin held an unhealthy pallor and he had dark circles under his eyes and Kaoru felt immediately guilty for complaining about him not getting there sooner. "My God, Aoshi, are you okay?" she asked struggling to sit up. Her arms were sore from the IVs and the needles from the day before.

He chuckled softly and sat at the end of her bed. "I should be the one asking that question." His icy gaze fell upon her injured leg and he reached out to gingerly touch the exposed skin with soft and gentle fingertips. "I can't believe I almost lost you yesterday."

Kaoru flashed him a confident smile. "Hardly. I'm made of tougher stuff than to let a measly snake try to take me out!"

Aoshi shook his head and drew his attention away from her leg and focused on her face with an intensity that made her uncomfortable. Whenever he looked at her like that she felt completely exposed-as if he could see to her very soul. "You're only human, Kaoru."

She sighed and drew her leg away from his touch. "Thanks for reminding me of my mortality. Should I do the same for you?"

Aoshi looked away, but not before Kaoru caught the brief flash of hurt across his patrician features. "I think we should go back to California. There isn't much time for to finish your thesis project. After that, I've some plans I'd like to explore with you."

"What sort of plans?"

"I've been meeting with Yukishiro-" he paused at the sound of Kaoru's gasp and turned back toward her. The last time he'd been involved with Yukishiro it had been to resolve the Kamiya business with the mafia and he'd returned home half-dead. "It has nothing to do with anything unsavory," he assured her. "You don't have to worry about that anymore. I took care of it."

"I know, Aoshi." Kaoru began to tug nervously at the loose thread on the afghan she had draped over her lap. "It's just hard to believe that I don't have to worry about something that has been hounding my life for so many years."

"At least you finally have the answers as to what exactly your father was involved with and know that he was indeed a brave and honorable man." Aoshi reached out and covered her hand with his-stilling her unraveling procedure of the poor throw blanket.

Kaoru took his hand and gave it a quick squeeze. "So what is the newest project you're working on?"

"I'll tell you once you've earned your degree."

"What?" Kaoru exclaimed pulling her hand away in annoyance. "Why?"

"Because I need to know that you can handle the responsibility I'm about to throw at you and I can't have you focused on such things while you need to complete your Masters. You can worry later."

"You are an insufferable man," Kaoru said with a scowl marring her features.

"You still want to marry me?"

Kaoru's face went blank at his blatant question. "In a heartbeat."

Aoshi shook his head with a look of regret in his eyes. "Then you have a lot of living and learning left to do if you'd be willing to make that mistake."

Kaoru could only gaze after him in stunned silence as he rose and retreated from her room. What sort of man could so casually ignore her feelings and treat them of such little consequence? She sighed and fell back against her pillows and stared at her side out the window toward the lovely view outside of the lovely ranch land that Aoshi had miraculously worked to look like the lush grounds of a less arid environment. She knew exactly what kind of man Aoshi was if his look of exhaustion proved anything. He was a man struggling to hang onto life and she wondered what exactly had been the cause of those dark circles and anemic look.

Maybe when Megumi came by she could ask her for some clues.

**OoO**

Saitou wasn't sure how to make up for his lack of responsibility that ended up in Ru becoming injured. Sure, he'd warned the boy not to remove his boots, but had he really tried hard enough to prevent the disaster? He was more wise than some teenaged boy, so certainly he should have put his foot down and ordered the kid not to get himself bitten by a poisonous snake.

Hindsight was always twenty-twenty and it did no good to beat himself up over it now. He was sitting at the kitchen table with some schematics for a new system of containment that could hold his over-zealous bull. Soujiro and Sanosuke were sitting with him looking over the various plans.

They'd both been remarkably tight-lipped since the incident.

"I apologize for the incident yesterday," Saitou said. The other two men popped their heads up immediately with looks of surprise on their faces. "Don't look at me that way. I didn't want that kid to get bit anymore than either of you. You won't let me pay the hospital bill. I can't send a boy flowers-I think I'd have died of embarrassment if someone sent me flowers when I injured myself at that age. Is there anything I can do to make up for it?"

"I don't think Ru would mind flowers. He's fond of tulips. They remind him of Mom," Sano said.

"Right, our mother adores tulips," Soujiro added hoping to distract Saitou from noticing the possessive 'Mom' slip from Sano. "I tell you what would be great though. You should build a pool."

"A pool?"

"It's hot here, sir. And I doubt if we had a pool then if a hot-headed teenager would have still foolishly walked through the stream barefoot when there was a nice below ground swimming pool back at the ranch house that he could have enjoyed instead," Soujiro continued. "Think about all the future accidents with snakes that can be avoided!"

"And all the possible swimming and drowning accidents that can take their place?" Saitou demanded.

"I think it's a good idea, sir. Ranch life is dangerous. Just look at what happened with the bull. I think all the men would benefit from having a pool." Sano began to pick at his bottom lip thoughtfully as an idea came to mind. "My birthday is in August. If we have it built before then maybe we can celebrate it with a poolside party."

"I don't know," Saitou said doubtfully. "It seems wasteful to have a swimming pool in the desert."

"I haven't seen Kaoru in so long! I bet she'd jump at the chance to join in to celebrate my birthday if it were a pool party," Sano added.

"In that case," Saitou muttered as he began to visualize a scantily clad dark haired vixen that wouldn't shriek and throw things at him for seeing her. "Find a contractor and make it happen boys. Perhaps we could have an indoor pool that recycled it water so it wouldn't be wasteful."

"Seriously? You're going to agree?" Sano asked.

"You made a good argument. Why wouldn't I?" Saitou asked. "Besides, I like to cool off as much as anyone."

"I think you've made a great decision, sir!" Soujiro said with a broad grin.

**OoO**

Kaoru sat on the back porch of Aoshi's home on the porch swing and gently rocked herself back and forth with her good foot. The strawberry lemonade Kenshin had brought her earlier soothed her parched throat. She set aside the empty glass on the porch railing and stared at her brother in shock.

"What do you mean he's building a swimming pool?"

"For my birthday party in August. Don't worry, you graduate two weeks later so you can make it," Sano said grinning. "And you want to know the part that won him over? He was picturing you in a bikini."

"That's sick, Sano."

He waved his hand dismissively. "Not Ru you, but you you. I think he misses you."

Kaoru grit her teeth imaging exactly what persuaded Saitou. He was probably reliving the moments when he walked in on her in the bathroom. He wasn't getting another free show! "Look, Sanosuke, I appreciate the thought, because I do love swimming, but in case you've forgotten I have been living in California for a while."

"You're studying all the time when you're not mooning about Shinomori. I doubt if you've been running around in a swimsuit or you wouldn't be mooning about him, now would you?"

Kaoru's face burned beet red at the insinuation and at the anger of the injustice of Aoshi not having a real relationship with her. "What's between Aoshi and myself is between us, not you."

"Touchy," Sano said with a grin. "Maybe you can invite him too. Or if you really want to convince him how great you are you should go to a beach with him in California then."

"Aoshi's not much of a beach person," she mumbled. She was still reeling by the idea of Hajime Saitou investing in something as frivolous as a swimming pool. "How in the world did you convince Saitou to have a swimming pool, seriously?"

"When a man feels guilty enough you can talk him into almost anything," Sano said pushing himself away from the railings. He walked toward Kaoru and leaned down to kiss the crown of her head. "Take care, kiddo. I'll see you for my birthday, all right?"

"Wait! Sano?"

He paused halfway to the door to leave the covered porch. "Yes?"

"Do you really think it would work? The swimsuit thing I mean?"

"On Shinomori? Probably not. If he's known you this long and still hasn't fallen hopelessly in love with you he is hopeless. But I do believe that if Saitou sees you he'd follow you around like a lost puppy. He's changed since that woman started living in our house. Compared to her, you're the freaking Queen of Sheba."

_05/31/10_


	19. Chapter Nineteen

**Chapter Nineteen**

Sano tested the weight of the hammer in his hand before he took aim and started pounding the new link of barbed wire through the fence studs. Ever since the bull escaped Saitou had driven the entire ranch hard like a tyrant insuring that they had all the fences on the entire premises as secure and sturdy as possible. The fences were all sturdy now but Saitou had wanted an extra two layers of barbed wire added.

He glanced to his right at all the fencing that needed the second layer of barbed wire and let out a long sigh. He still had a long ways to go before he would be done for the day. The only thing that made it all tolerable was that his birthday pool party was scheduled for the next day. It had been a long couple of weeks since he last talked to Kaoru. He wouldn't say she was avoiding his calls necessarily, but she was never home when he called. And when someone did answer it was always Shinomori and he couldn't be sure he was passing on his messages. As far as he knew she was still coming to his party, but he didn't know for sure.

The sound of hooves running toward him caused Sano to look over his shoulder and see Soujiro coming his way with Megumi riding behind him. There had been a sick heifer that the good doctor had come over to look at even though her speciality was human-she still knew a thing or two about veterinary medicine.

"You need to keep yourself hydrated, cowboy," Megumi said sliding off the back of the horse and pulling a tin water bottle out of the satchel she had slung across her shoulders.

Sanosuke pulled out the bandana from his back pocket and wiped the sweat off his face before accepting the water. "Don't mind if I do," he said before taking a generous gulp.

"You've been busy," Soujiro said taking notice of the finished fencing to Sano's left.

"I'd be further along if you'd been helping me instead of baby-sitting the good doctor here," Sano said handing the water back to Megumi.

"He'll help you after you get a hardy meal into you," Megumi said. "We came out here to collect you. We're having lunch over at Tae's. Misao is probably already on her way there."

"Maybe I don't want to have lunch over there. Maybe I just want a good old fashioned ham sandwich from my fridge? I've got the fixings all ready-bread, ham, and mustard," Sano countered.

"Don't be a spoil sport." Megumi hit him lightly on the shoulder. "Have you heard from Kaoru?"

"Still don't know if she'll be coming tomorrow or not," Sano answered. He looked from Soujiro to Megumi and saw twin stubborn expressions and decided to save his energy and eat with them. It wasn't worth arguing. He started to shove his tools into his pack and then made his way over to where his horse was tied up enjoying the shade of a small groove of trees ten yards from the fence line.

"I wonder if her possible reluctance might stem from the fact that you implied that our boss has an unhealthy attraction for her when she's been busy trying to gain the love of his rival," Soujiro said reaching down to help Megumi back up behind him. "I'm less sweaty than him, so you might want to ride with me."

"And I smell like a sick cow," she said declining his offer and moving toward Sanosuke's horse. "Sweaty cowboy is much preferable, trust me."

"It's not an unhealthy attraction," Sano said. "She's my sister and she's a real catch."

"Technically, she's _my_ sister and we look a great deal alike. Are you saying I'm a real catch?" Soujiro asked.

"Misao seems to think you are," Megumi said when Sano helped her onto his horse and then sat behind her with his arms encasing her in position.

"And that is why you have to come to lunch, Sano. You cannot subject me to an interrogation session between these two women alone." Soujiro adjusted his cowboy hat to ride low in the front and reduce the sun's glare. "It's awkward to be the rebound crush when the crush was your sister."

**OoO**

Kaoru fingered the embossed invitation to Sanosuke's birthday party at the Star S Ranch. By the degree of fanciness of the card you'd think it was a wedding invitation rather than a small gathering by the pool. She wanted to go, but Sano's words kept ringing inside her head. Since returning to California she'd been to the beach a few times, but each time Aoshi had declined in joining her. Sometimes when Kenshin visited he'd go with her, but more often then not she found herself alone.

Academically she couldn't have been doing better. Her Masters' project was almost complete and was turning out to be a real success. Her relationship with the man she'd fallen in love with was a total disaster.

Shinomori hardly spoke to her even though they shared the same living space. He was gone more often than he was present and it looked as if he'd lost weight. His frame went from being lean to a few shades away from gaunt. His flesh was turning a sickly white and he cringed when she asked him to accompany her to the beach as if they very idea was something torturous.

She wanted to see Sano and Soujiro and the others, but frankly she was afraid to leave Aoshi alone and she already knew he wouldn't come with her.

"You should stop staring at the card and just start packing," Aoshi said. His voice surprised her into looking up and across the room at him. He was sitting at his computer desk decidedly not looking at computer and staring straight at her. His blue-green eyes were bright and intelligent, not the empty hollowness she'd grown accustomed to.

"Excuse me?"

"Go and visit your brother. You should get away from me and try to have some fun."

"Why don't you come with me then? You never do anything fun anymore and each and every day you look worse and worse."

"Thanks, I didn't realize I was such an eyesore for you."

Kaoru narrowed her eyes. His depressing demeanor was too much and she'd had enough of it. "Maybe if you actually ate some real food once in a while, or exercised, or even went on a walk with me to the beach looking at you wouldn't be so repulsive! God, Aoshi! I'd follow you to the ends of the earth and you can't even follow me down two blocks to the beach! When did you give up on life?"

"When life gave up on me," Aoshi said rising to his feet and moving toward the couch. Her new bikini top swimsuit and boy-cut swimming shorts to go over it were draped over the back. He picked them up with his long-fingered hand and tossed them toward her. She caught them on reflex. "Put them on. Let's go to the beach then if it will make you happy."

"Fine!" Kaoru shouted back storming into her bathroom and slamming the door shut. She leaned back heavily against the door. He just agreed to go with her to the beach! It was unnerving that their entire conversation for the last couple of minutes was spoken in an angry shouting match, but at least it meant he still had some spirit. If the only way to see he was alive was to make him angry, then she would do her best to piss him off.

Kaoru stripped out of her knitted hooded shirt, blue jeans, and then underwear before slipping on the brown and green floral designed bikini top and bottom. She then pulled on the solid green boy-cut shorts and picked up the flip-flops there sat under the sink. A quick glance at her ruby red toenails made her glad she'd been bored the night before and gave herself a pedicure.

She exited the bathroom to find Aoshi was in a pair of casual blue jeans and a green Stanford t-shirt with a pair of leather flip-flops on his feet and waiting for her at the front door.

"Did you put on sunblock?" Kaoru asked gazing at his pale skin.

"Did you?" Aoshi asked with an arched brow and looking pointedly at her exposed skin.

"My daily moisturizer has SPF protection," Kaoru said matter-of-factly. She reached out and took his wrist and dragged him back toward her bathroom. "You might have finally agreed to go to the beach but I'm not going to take care of the blistering sunburn you're going to get if you stubbornly refuse sunblock."

Aoshi allowed himself to be pulled back to her bathroom. He even allowed Kaoru to set him on the toilet seat cover and sat still and compliant when she took out her Coppertone sunscreen and slathered a generous amount into her palms before applying it to his visible arms, neck, and more gently to his face. She didn't like the way his bone structure was more prominent.

"This is pointless. I'm not going to die of skin cancer."

"And you don't want icky leathery skin from sun damage either," Kaoru said snapping closed the top to the sunscreen lotion.

They rode the elevator down in silence. The doors opened to the lobby and Aoshi wrapped his arm around Kaoru's shoulder and pulled her close. The move might have been romantic if it didn't seem like he was using her to support his weight.

"You're rather tone," Aoshi complimented casting Kaoru a quick up and down glance.

"Aside from studying, I've nothing else to do but exercise." She hooked her arm around his waist as they continued walking toward the beach while avoiding those on roller blades that were cruising down the sidewalks. He wasn't quite as thin as she thought, his abdomen was still firm and well-muscled. "What's up with you trying to pull off the Christian Bale Machinist look?"

"Unintentional weight loss as a side effect of experimental treatment of my terminal condition."

"What?"

Aoshi sighed and avoided her gaze. "I don't wish to talk about it, Kaoru."

"You can't say stuff like that and then ignore me when I want to know more. I lo-, she stopped herself hoping he wouldn't notice the blurt, "-care about you a great deal."

"If you care, then I must insist you stop this line of questioning."

The sandy shore came into view and they both slipped off their flip-flips upon reaching the area where the gentle waves washed ashore and the sand was a comfortable sludge for their toes to dig into and they walked alongside each other the length of the water front. The sun was creeping towards the West as dusk rapidly approached. The fresh salty breeze was a small comfort in the awkward lull their faced in conversation.

"You're almost done with your thesis project," Aoshi commented.

"Two weeks until graduation," Kaoru agreed. "It's hard to believe I'll finally have completed my goal-several years behind schedule."

"There's something I want to tell you. I had wanted it to be a surprise for your graduation, but now seems a good time," Aoshi started. Kaoru stopped walking and turned him to face her and shook her head while lifting her free hand to press her fingers against his lips.

"Then keep it for a surprise."

Aoshi sighed, his shoulders rising with the inhalation and sinking with the exhalation of air. "I wish you'd stop looking at me with your heart in your eyes."

"Forgive me for caring."

**OoO**

Hajime Saitou never thought he'd do something as frivolous as having an indoor swimming pool built on his ranch. There was still plenty of natural light from the many window panels outlining the area-it looked almost like a green house but without the heat and humidity. After hours of working the ranch the place was an oasis and he was glad he made the investment. Presently, the area was decorated for his foreman's birthday party with colorful streamers and balloons-it would seem that between Kamatari, Megumi, and Misao he could have held a high school homecoming dance within hours much less decorate for a low key birthday.

The only thing he didn't like was that instead of preparing for her eviction Tokio had taken to laying out on the deck chairs at the pool side. The bikini she wore left little to the imagination and as much as he hated to admit it actually flattered her instead of showing what a rotten woman she was. It was another example of not being able to judge a book by the cover.

She pushed up her sunglasses into her dark hair when she noticed him enter the area. "Hajime, dear. Would you care to join me for a soak in the hot tub?"

Saitou glanced in the direction of the hot tub regretting that the man he commissioned to build the pool center had talked him into agreeing to have the hot tub added. The convincing argument was that it was therapeutic for sore muscles.

"Tokio, you need to vacate the pool area. It has been reserved for Sagara's birthday celebration and you're not invited," Saitou said itching for a cigarette. The woman just caused his blood pressure to rise. It would be good for his health when she would finally leave him alone in the very near future.

"Don't you think that's a little mean?" Tokio asked with a pout while she rose from her reclining position with a cat-like grace and started to slink towards him.

Saitou was grateful that he hadn't changed and was wearing his familiar flannel long-sleeved shirt with blue jeans and boots. It was all that was protecting him from the woman in front of him-at least that was until one of the doors opened to the pool area. The sound of a familiar yet rarely heard laugh filtered toward his ears as well as the deep rumble of Sagara's voice.

"So you're saying that you're celebrating your twenty-fifth birthday-again?" Kaoru asked as she and Sano stepped into Saitou's line of sight. She had on short shorts, flip-flops with a thick sole, and a modest halter top styled swim suit and while she wasn't incredibly dark she did have a golden cast to her bared skin courtesy no doubt to the California sunshine she'd been enjoying. Saitou hardly paid attention to his foreman who was dressed in cargo shorts, flip-flops, and a white muscle shirt-he did note that Sano's arm was draped casually over Kaoru's shoulders.

Sano was the first to notice that he and Kaoru weren't alone. "Hey there, Boss. I didn't know you were here."

"I have a feeling Dr. Takani won't appreciate you seeing the decorations before the celebration," Saitou said. He reached up and tipped the brim of his cowboy hat in Kaoru's direction. "Miss Kamiya, welcome to the Star S."

Kaoru snorted quietly. "It's a shame you didn't use that greeting when we first met." Her attention drifted toward Tokio and her posture stiffened.

"Don't mind me," Tokio said drifting back to the lounge chair she'd recently vacated.

"Let's not let past hostilities affect this joyous occasion of celebration," Saitou said taking off his cowboy hat completely and running his fingers through his thick hair. It was a little sweaty, but he figured it would be best to utilize all his charm and try to bridge the chasm that had formed between him and Sagara's sister. She really was a pretty, sweet, and intelligent young woman and for some reason it had become important for him to make her like him.

"All right," Kaoru agreed giving Saitou a suspicious glance. "So when do these festivities officially begin?"

The door connecting the pool area to the house swung open and Soujiro, Megumi, Misao, Kamatari, Katsu, Yahiko, and few other ranch hands came in carrying ice chests, towels, a portable radio, and a volleyball.

"Let's get this party started!" Yahiko yelled before setting down the stereo and playing Skillet.

"Christian rock?" Kaoru asked Sano when he started mumbling the words along to the music.

"Yeah, I've found religion since Saitou likes to make us go to church I don't feel so bad listening to music during the sermon as long as its Christian," Sano explained. "Yahiko is the one that introduced me to the band. House of Heroes and Fireflight are also pretty awesome."

"I don't think you're supposed to be listening to your IPOD during church, even if it's Christian music."

"Don't be so judgmental, Kaoru! It's all about forgiveness!" Sano shouted scooping Kaoru up in his arms and running towards the deep end of the pool and jumping in so that they were both submerged. She didn't have a chance to scream as she took a deep breath before the inevitable.

Kaoru kicked at Sano until he released his grip on her and she swam to the surface and rose gasping for breath. She pushed her wet hair out of her eyes and treaded water in wait for Sano's emergence. He rose up behind her and forced her back down again. Kaoru elbowed him in the gut and he let go and she came to the surface again. The next thing she knew Soujiro had jumped into the pool beside her with his back against hers.

"Since he's so much bigger than us I say we defeat him with superior numbers," Soujiro said.

"Couldn't you children have waited until after we ate to go swimming?" Megumi said with her hands on her hips and glaring down at them at the pool's edge.

"You're not supposed to swim right after eating," Yahiko said before running behind her and pushing her into the pool.

Megumi screamed throughout the descent into the chilly water. When she swam to the surface Sanosuke had come behind her and wrapped his arms around her form and held her in front of him and as a shield between Kaoru and Soujiro.

"Don't dish out what you can't take, son," Saitou said before shoving Yahiko into the water. He stood back from the edge and looked down at all the wet guests and shook his head.

"I'd say it's time for some volleyball!" Misao shouted jumping into the water. Kamatari and Katsu were busy stringing up the net across the width of the pool.

"All right, I say Sano and I are the team captains," Kaoru said swimming under the net and dragging Soujiro with her. "Sou is on my team."

"I've got Megumi," Sano said still holding the doctor in his arms and kissing her neck.

"Misao?" Kaoru called waving the girl over towards her.

"Katsu," Sanosukes said.

"Hajime," Kaoru called next. The rancher in question nearly dropped the bottle of Shiner he'd just picked up in surprise. He wasn't planning on participating. "You do have a swim suit on under that don't you?"

"I do," Saitou said setting down the beer bottle and stripping off his shirt and pants to reveal a pair of gold and blue striped swim shorts. He started down the stairs into the pool and stood on Kaoru's side of the net.

"Kamatari, stop dawdling with that cake and get in here!" Sano shouted.

Tokio started to rise from her deck chair. "Sorry, Tokio. We've got to keep this game even," Megumi said stopping her from entering the pool. Tokio looked pointedly at Yahiko.

"Don't mind me, I'm the referee," Yahiko said swimming to the fence and sitting on the edge of the pool.

Tokio sat at the other fence post opposite Yahiko. "Two sets of eyes are better than one," she said with a casual flip of her hair over her shoulder.

"I'm surprised you picked me for your team, Kaoru," Saitou said when Misao handed him the volleyball.

Kaoru shrugged. "You're tall, athletic, and you hate to lose. Why wouldn't I pick you?"

"Good point," Saitou said before he tossed the ball into the air and then served it towards Sano's team.

Megumi hit it back to their side and then Soujiro hit it straight up into the air and then Kaoru jumped to spike the ball right in front of Sano's chest.

The ball then went back and forth between the two teams until Kamatari spiked the ball just out of Soujiro's reach. Megumi served the ball and after boasting about her time as captain of her university's volleyball team she quickly lived up to her former reputation as the scores slowly crept up into the low twenties.

Megumi's latest serve was near Kaoru, but just out of range. It would have scored and put Sano's team ahead in the game if Saitou hadn't lunged toward Kaoru and stood under her and propped her up on his shoulders all within seconds before she had a chance to register what he was doing. The impromptu lift caused her to have perfect reach for the volleyball and she managed to spike it right in front of Kamatari.

"Interference. I say the point goes to Sanosuke's team," Tokio said flipping her hair off her shoulder.

"It was creative, but there were no rules against the unconventional use of the Chicken game in volleyball," Yahiko argued. "As I am the actual referee and judge, I say the spike counts and the ball goes back to Kaoru's team."

Kaoru's hands rested lightly upon Saitou's dark hair. She knew the rancher was strong but having the muscles of his broad shoulders squeezed tightly between her thighs brought that realization to a whole new level. His bronzed physique was in stark contrast to the sickly frame of her beloved Aoshi in the last few weeks. "Hajime? You can let me down now." His hands tightened their grip on her thighs and he made no move to release her from that position.

"I say new game. Let's play Chicken," Saitou suggested with a pointed look toward Soujiro.

Soujiro glanced toward Misao and grinned. "Sure thing, Boss!" Sou said swimming next to Misao and lifting her onto his shoulders much to the delight of the giggling brunette.

Katsu looked between Sano, Megumi, and Kamatari. It became obvious that Sano would claim the lovely doctor and that would leave him with Saitou's feminine cook/housekeeper. Katsu started to creep toward the pool's edge.

"Where are you going, honey?" Tokio said dropping into the pool and grabbing hold of Katsu's arm. "I'll need a strapping young man like you on my team if I'm to properly compete."

Kaoru leaned over so she could look directly into Saitou's eyes from an upside down view point. "Look at what you started. You know she's going to come straight for us," she whispered.

"Then I suggest you not fall off," Saitou said squeezing her thighs. "Let's see what sort of team we make when we work together."

"Just don't drown me," Kaoru muttered straightening.

_09/20/2010_

_A/N: Thanks for reading and your reviews! A special thanks to Catfoxglove and her constant harassment and support!_


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